The mother of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny said Thursday she was able to see her son's body after several days of waiting, but accused Russian authorities of “blackmailing” her into “secretly” burying him.
• Also read: Russian opponent Alexei Navalny dies in prison at the age of 47
“They want everything to be done secretly and without ceremony, they want to take me to a cemetery, near a fresh grave, and tell me: 'Here lies your son.' I don't agree with that,” Lyoudmila Navalnaïa explained in a video released by the opposing team on Thursday.
Ms. Navalnaïa said she was taken to the morgue and was able to see the remains. She also says she is in Salekhard, the capital of the Yamal-Nenets district, a region in the far north where Alexei Navalny officially died in custody on February 16.
According to his mother, investigators have already determined the cause of death, “and all legal and medical documents are available.”
According to the opposing team, the cause of death was given as “natural”.
“Legally, they should have returned Alexei's body to me immediately, but they didn't. Instead they blackmail me,” the mother criticized the opponent.
“I'm recording this video because they started threatening me. They look me in the eye and say if I refuse a secret funeral they will do something to his body. The Inspector […] told me frankly: “Time is against you, the body is decaying,” she said.
“I want you, those for whom Alexei was a loved one, for whom his death was a personal tragedy, to have an opportunity to say goodbye to him,” the opponent's mother continued.
Since Saturday, Lyoudmila Navalnaïa had sought access to his body, with investigators ensuring that “expert knowledge” was required. She even turned to President Vladimir Putin to win her case.
The team surrounding Vladimir Putin's main opponent, who died after three years in prison under increasingly difficult conditions, accuses the Kremlin of having Alexei Navalny killed and covering its tracks.