There is still no trace of the body of Kremlin opponent Navalny, who died in the prison camp. The mother of the Russian opposition leader and the lawyers encounter a wall of silence.
After the death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny in the prison camp, according to the opposition spokesman’s spokeswoman, the mother and lawyers still have no access to the 47-year-old’s body. On Monday morning, Alexei’s mother Lyudmila Navalnaya and the lawyers were not allowed into the morgue in the northern Russian city of Salekhard. “The employees did not answer the question of whether Alexei’s body was there,” said Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch on the news portal X (formerly Twitter). Relatives and Navalny’s team have been calling on the Russian power apparatus for days to hand over the body. According to official information, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s opponent died in a prison camp on Friday.
“In the investigative committee, the mother and the lawyers were told that the investigation into Navalny’s death has been extended. How long it will last is not known,” Yarmysch said. “The causes of death are still ‘undetermined’.” Navalny’s team blames Putin for Navalny’s death and accuses the authorities of delaying tactics.
Widow is expected in Brussels
The widow of the Russian opposition leader, Yulia Navalnaya, was invited to the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday. The evening before, she had made a post on the social network Instagram for the first time since her husband’s death – a photo in which Navalny caressed her and with the words: “I love you”. Thousands of people expressed their courage in comments to Julia Navalnaya and wished her strength. As of Monday morning, the entry had more than half a million views.
In Russia, Russians also openly expressed their sadness – despite hundreds of arrests and police violence. Many laid flowers and lit candles at official memorials to victims of political violence. Authorities continued to try to destroy the spontaneous memorials, and flowers were stuffed into trash bags and taken away. Western ambassadors also laid flowers in Moscow opposite the secret service headquarters on Lubyanka and remembered Navalny’s courageous resistance against Putin.
The Russian president, who wants to be re-elected in a month, has not yet commented on the death of his fiercest opponent. According to Russian authorities, Navalny, who was physically weakened after many days in repeated solitary confinement, collapsed on Friday while walking in the courtyard of his Siberian prison camp in freezing temperatures. According to the prison service, attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
