She thanked “everyone who demanded this from us,” Jarmisch wrote on X (Twitter). She still doesn't know if “the authorities will prevent the funeral ceremony from happening as the family wants and as Alexei deserves,” continued Jarmisch.
The death of Navalny, who had been imprisoned for years in Russia, was announced on Friday last week. He died in a penal camp in the Arctic Circle at the age of 47. Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, only had access to his body on Thursday. According to the spokeswoman, she is still in Salekhard, in northern Russia.
Spokesperson reports threats from investigators
According to Jarmisch, Russian investigators threatened to bury Navalny's body on the grounds of the penal colony where he died if his family did not agree to a secret burial.
Portal/White House daughter Darja (left) and his wife Julia (here with US President Joe Biden) demanded that the body be returned
The death of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent has caused international consternation. In addition to Navalny's widow, several Western politicians blame the Russian leadership and Putin personally for his death. Moscow rejected the accusations.
Mother demanded a public funeral
Navalny's mother called for a public funeral so that not only the family but also supporters could say goodbye to the leader of the Russian opposition. “We will provide information on this as it emerges,” Jarmisch said.
Navalny's mother, Portal/Alexei Navalny YouTube channel, called for a public funeral
It had previously been said that Navalny's mother wanted a burial at the Khovanskoye cemetery, the largest of the Russian capital's more than 100 resting places.
“They keep torturing him.”
On Saturday morning, Navalny's widow and daughter demanded the return of the 47-year-old's remains. Russian President Putin, who describes himself as a devout Christian, mocks the dead man's remains and demonstrates “open Satanism”, his widow Yulia Navalnaya said in a video message. “Hand over Alexei. They tortured him alive and continue to torture him dead,” she said. “They break all human and divine laws.”
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“Give grandma my father’s body,” Navalny’s daughter Darya wrote in Navalny’s widow accused Putin of continuing to torment Alexei’s mother and wanting to break her.
Although Putin poses in Russian Orthodox churches with a candle in his hand and kisses icons, he is actually driven by hatred and a desire for revenge, said Yulia Navalnaya. “No, it’s not even hate, it’s Satanism, paganism.” But faith has to do with kindness, with mercy, with redemption. “And no true Christian could do what Putin is doing now to the late Alexei.”
Circumstances of death unclear
According to authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in the penal camp with the unofficial name “Arctic Wolf” in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal. The circumstances of his death are unclear.
The politician, weakened by a poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, reportedly collapsed while walking through the freezing prison courtyard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him. According to Navalny's team, the death certificate mentions “natural” causes.