Navalny's mother: They showed me the son's body, but they pressured me for a secret burial

2024-02-22 17:52:10Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Lyudmila Navalnaya

Alexei Navalny's mother has said she has been shown his body, but added that Russian authorities were pressuring her to allow a "secret" burial.

In a video message, Lyudmila Navalnaya said she had been taken to a morgue on Wednesday night.

She said she had signed a death certificate stating that Navalny died of natural causes.

Lyudmila Navalnaya said the law required authorities to hand over her son's body, but said she was being "blackmailed" after they refused to do so. She stated that Russian authorities were setting conditions for her son's burial, including the place, time and manner of his burial.

"They want to take me to the outskirts of the cemetery to a new grave and say, 'Here is your son,'" she said.

Navalnaya, who traveled to the town of Salekhard after news of her son's death in a nearby penal colony, also said she was being threatened by authorities.

"Looking me in the eye, they tell me that if I don't agree to a secret burial, they will do something with my son's body," she said.

"Investigator Voropaev openly told me, 'Time is not on your side, the corpse is decomposing,'" continued Navalny's mother.

Alexei Navalny died in a prison colony on February 16.


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