The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, released a video message to the public, revealing alleged pressure from Russian authorities on the politician’s family and their efforts to arrange a secret funeral.
"I just left the building of the Investigative Committee of the city of Salekhard," Lyudmila Navalnaya stated in her video message.
"I spent almost a day there alone, with investigators and criminologists. They only allowed my lawyer in this afternoon. Yesterday evening, they secretly took me to the morgue where Alexei's body was shown. Investigators claim they know the cause of death, presenting all the medical and legal documents ready for my review and signature on the medical death certificate."
"According to the law, they should have given me Alexey’s body right away, but they haven’t done so until now," emphasized Lyudmila Navalnaya.
"Instead, they are blackmailing me, dictating conditions for where, when, and how Alexey should be buried. This is illegal. Whether I receive directives from the Kremlin or the central apparatus of the Investigative Committee, they want this to be done secretly, without proper goodbyes. They plan to take me to the outskirts of the cemetery to a fresh grave and declare, 'Here lies your son.' I refuse to accept this."
"I want those who hold Alexei dear, for whom his death was a personal tragedy, to have the chance to bid him farewell," Lyudmila Navalnaya continued.
"I'm recording this video because they've begun to threaten me. Looking me in the eyes, they assert that if I don't agree to a secret funeral, they'll take some action with my son's body. Investigator Voropaev explicitly stated, 'Time is not on your side; corpses are decomposing.'"
"I don't seek special treatment," Navalnaya emphasized. "I just want everything to be done according to the law. They demand that my son’s body be handed over to me immediately."
It is worth noting that the Russian opposition politician passed away on February 16 in correctional colony No. 3 in the polar village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Authorities have declined to release his body to his family. Alexei Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, mentioned that the death certificate issued to the politician's mother attributed his death to "natural causes."
