Worthy Christian News > World News > ‘Russia Says Kremlin Critic Navalny Died Of Natural Causes But Refuses To Release Body’

‘Russia Says Kremlin Critic Navalny Died Of Natural Causes But Refuses To Release Body’

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia claims jailed opposition leader and anti-corruption crusader Aleksei Navalny died of “natural causes” but refuses to release his body until his mother agrees to a “secret funeral,” Navalny’s mother and his spokeswoman said Thursday.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny’s mother, said she had been “secretly” taken to a morgue Wednesday night, “where they showed me Aleksei.”

She added in a video message that officials told her “time is not working for you” and that they suggested her son’s body was “decomposing.”

“According to the law, they should have given me Alexei’s body right away, but they have not done so until now. Instead, they are blackmailing me, setting me conditions on where, when, and how Alexei should be buried. This is illegal,” she said, dressed in black and speaking calmly and firmly.

Navalny survived an attempt to poison him in Siberia in 2020 with what Western laboratories said was a Russian-made nerve agent, Novichok.

In prison since January 2021, he had endured long spells in solitary confinement.

Navalny’s mother said: “I’m recording this video because they started threatening me. Looking into my eyes, they say that if I don’t agree to a secret funeral, they will do something with my son’s body.”

MEDICAL REPORT

The mother was shown a medical report on Navalny’s death that said he died of natural causes, explained the Navalny team’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh.

Navalny died last week in an Arctic prison colony at age 47 under what Western leaders and his supporters view as suspicious circumstances.

“They want this (burial) to be done secretly, with no farewell. They want to bring me to the edge of a cemetery, to a fresh grave, and say: here lies your son. I don’t agree with this,” his mother said.

Moscow did not immediately respond to her allegations. However, Navalny’s aides and family have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having him killed.

Moscow has angrily rejected these allegations and reportedly detained hundreds of people demanding answers in recent days.

Navalny was serving sentences totaling more than 30 years on charges including fraud and extremist activity that he said were trumped up to silence him.

The death of Putin’s most prominent critic has shocked Russia’s opposition, one month before a presidential election in which the Kremlin leader is certain to secure a new six-year term.

‘PRESIDENT FOR LIFE’

Navalny had called him a “president for life.” Putin, whom Boris Yeltsin handed the presidency on the last day of 1999, already served as president for longer than any other Russian ruler since Josef Stalin, beating even Leonid Brezhnev’s 18-year tenure.

Putin turned 71 on October 7, an event that was overshadowed by the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people in Israel.

Navalny’s widow, Yulia, who is currently outside the country, has said she plans to continue her husband’s work. She said she and the couple’s daughter, Dasha, a student at Stanford University in California, were together and comforting each other.

“We will definitely cope with everything, my dear one. It’s so good that you’re at my side. I love you,” she wrote on social media outlet X, formerly known as Twitter.

Rights organization OVD-Info said more than 83,000 people had signed a petition it drafted to Russia’s Investigative Committee, asking for Navalny’s body to be handed to his family.

At least 800 people have signed a separate petition initiated by a group of Russian Orthodox priests, saying his family has the right to say farewell to Navalny and give him a Christian burial.

The petition urged the authorities to respect Navalny’s memory, not only as an opposition politician but as a believer. “Do not overshadow the tragedy of his death by refusing such a simple and humane request. Remember that everyone is equal before God,” it said.

“Refusing to release the body of Alexei Navalny to his family will be perceived as a manifestation of ruthlessness and inhumanity. This decision could lead to even greater tension in society. We urge you not to go down this path.”