Death of Navalny: the opponent's mother accuses Russia of wanting to bury him secretly
Six days after the death of her son and after a direct appeal to Vladimir Putin, the mother of Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny said she was able to see his body and his death certificate.
But in a new video, she accuses those in power of blackmailing her over her son's burial conditions.
The mother of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, speaks in a new video and claims to have been able to see the body of her son, February 22, 2024. via REUTERS - ALEXEI NAVALNY YOUTUBE CHANNEL
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A burial
in the greatest secrecy.
The mother
of Alexeï Navalny, who died at the age of 47
, six days ago, assured this Thursday that she had been able to see the body of her son, after several days of waiting.
But in a video broadcast by the opponent's team on YouTube, Lyoudmila Navalnaïa denounced the "
blackmail
" she suffered from the Russian authorities to secretly bury her son.
“
They want everything to be done secretly, without ceremony, they want to take me to the confines of a cemetery, near a fresh grave, and say to me
:
'Here lies your son.'
I do not agree with this
,” said Lyudmila Navalnaya.
In detail, the mother of the deceased indicated that she was taken to the morgue and was able to see the remains of her son.
She also says she is in Salekhard, the capital of the Yamalo-Nenetsia district, a region in the Far North where
Alexeï Navalny died in detention
on February 16.
“
I demand that my son’s body be returned to me immediately
”
According to his mother, investigators have already established the cause of death, “
and all the legal and medical documents are ready
.”
“
I had to sign a medical certificate
,” she continued: according to the opponent’s team, the cause of death is listed as “
natural
”.
01:17
Lyoudmila Navalnaïa, the mother of Alexeï Navalny denounces the blackmail of the Russian authorities
“
Legally, they should have returned Alexei's body to me immediately, but they didn't.
Instead, they are blackmailing me, setting conditions on where, when and how Alexei should be buried.
It’s illegal
,” criticized Lyoudmila Navalnaïa.
“
I am recording this video because
they started threatening me
.
Looking me in the eye, they say that if I refuse a secret funeral, they will do something with his body.
The investigator (...) told me openly: 'Time is against you, the corpse is decomposing'
,” she said.
According to her, the pressure could come from the Kremlin or the Russian
Investigative Committee
, a powerful investigative body.
“
I want for you, those for whom Alexei was a loved one, for whom his death was a personal tragedy,
there is an opportunity to say goodbye to him
,” said the opponent’s mother.
“
I don’t want any special conditions, I want everything to be done according to the law.
I demand that my son’s body be returned to me immediately
,” Lyoudmila Navalnaïa concluded with emotion.
The Kremlin against public funerals
Since last Saturday, Lyoudmila Navalnaïa had sought access to his body, with investigators ensuring that “
expertise
” was necessary.
She
even turned to President Vladimir Putin
to win her case.
In the 2010s, before the repressive machine completely fell on him, Alexei Navalny managed to mobilize crowds, particularly in Moscow, and in this way earned
his status as Vladimir Putin's number one opponent
.
Thus, despite the repression that has decimated the opposition, a public funeral could theoretically mobilize its supporters.
This is confirmed by Russian political scientist Tatiana Stanovaïa.
For her, the authorities want at all costs to prevent a funeral from becoming a catalyst for Russians who are opposed to the Kremlin, and who cannot express it publicly, under penalty of arrest or prosecution.
“
A decision was made to convince Navalny’s mother to make a deal.
They will return the body but on condition that the funeral does not become a political event
,” she wrote on her Telegram account.
Also read: Alexeï Navalny, the Russian martyr
(
And with
AFP)
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