The body of Alexei Navalny was handed over to his mother eight days after the death of an opponent of Vladimir Putin.

Alexei Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalny, received her son’s body, according to an announcement made on Saturday, February 24 by the congregation of the dissident who died on Friday, February 16, in a Russian penal colony. “We don’t know if the authorities will interfere with the funeral that the family wants and Alexei deserves. We will provide information as it becomes available.”his spokesperson wrote Kira Yarmish on Social Network X on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, in a video, Yulia Navalnaya, wife of the protester who vowed to continue the fight against Alexei Navalny, accused Vladimir Putin of holding her husband’s body hostage to force his mother to accept a secret burial.

The announcement ends days of confusion surrounding the fate of Mr Navalny’s remains, which Mr.^me

Navalnaya could not be seen till last Thursday.

On Thursday, A Video message broadcasting Through a crowd of protesters, Alexei Navalny’s mother accused the Russian authorities of making threats against him so that “Secret Burial” to plan “They are blackmailing me (…). They want everything to be done secretly, without ceremony, they want to take me to the outskirts of the cemetery, near the fresh grave, and tell me “here is your son”, I do not agree with that »Lyudmila Navalny declared. “I recorded this video because they started threatening me. Straight to my face, they told me that if I did not agree to a secret burial, they would do something with my son’s body. The investigator told me openly: “Time is against you, the body is rotting.”She also said.

Also Read |

Articles are reserved for our subscribers “Western outrage over Navalny’s death inevitably leads to the painful question: Punish Putin, yes, but how? »

Add to your preferences

“Russians must give him back his son”

“Last night they secretly took me to the mortuary (From Salekhard, the capital of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, where Mr. Navalny was imprisoned), where they showed me Alexei’s body. Investigators say they know the cause of his death. Medical and legal documents are ready. I saw them. And I signed the death certificate.”Lyudmila Navalnaya continued.

Russian prison authorities announced in a press release on Friday that the famous activist, who has been imprisoned for three years, died in the penal colony where he was serving a nineteen-year sentence. A 47-year-old man, whose health had deteriorated due to poisoning and his imprisonment, “Sore after walking” and will be “faint”They explained, making sure everything was done to revive him and the reasons for his death “Installing”.

No details have leaked since then, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has not said a word about the disappearance of this key political figure, a death that comes a month before the March 15-17 presidential election, which the Kremlin’s master must watch. In the absence of any opposition, reappointed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the allegations, calling them“Totally baseless and outrageous allegations against the Head of State”.

The world with AFP