DThe mother of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalnyj, who according to official information died in custody on February 16, has received his body. Navalny's exiled comrades-in-arms announced this on Saturday. His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, wrote on Platform was.
Lyudmila Navalnaya had also reported an attempt at blackmail by the investigators with a view to carrying out a burial in the closest circle under the control of those in power, whereas the family wanted the public to be able to say goodbye to him. Now Jarmysch wrote that it was still unclear whether those in power would prevent such a funeral.
Ivan Zhdanov, the head of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, which has been banned in Russia since 2021, thanked everyone who had called for his family's body to be returned. In the past few days, numerous prominent Russians from exile have recorded corresponding video messages. A few hours before the announcement of the handover of the body, Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, had accused Putin on Saturday morning of holding his body “hostage” after the “murder” of her husband. Putin presents himself in front of cameras as a Christian, but “no real Christian could do what Putin does with the already dead Alexei.” The behavior is based on “hatred”, even “Satanism, paganism”.
According to Navalnyj's colleagues, the investigators in Salekhard had, among other things, threatened the dead man's mother with using “media resources” and spreading information “that no one wants to know” if she did not submit to the demands of those in power. Shortly afterwards, Telegram channels loyal to the regime spread an alleged audio message in which the mother violently insulted Navalny's widow. The “Provereno.media” project, which specializes in checking such files, came to the conclusion that the clip – which sounded questionable just by listening to it – was a fake using artificial intelligence. Russia's rulers are currently particularly keen to discredit Yulia Navalnaya, who has announced that she will continue her husband's cause.