8 hours ago
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Flowers outside the Russian embassy in Copenhagen – just one of the cities where tributes were paid
The family of Alexei Navalny, the Putin critic who died in a Russian prison, has reportedly been told that his body will not be released for another two weeks.
His mother had been informed that it was being held for “chemical analysis,” a representative for Navalny said.
There has been no confirmation from Russian authorities about the body's whereabouts and efforts to locate it have been repeatedly suspended.
The wife of the late Russian opposition leader has accused them of hiding it.
In a video Monday in which she vowed to continue his work for a “free Russia,” Yulia Navalnaya directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband. She also claimed that his body was kept until traces of poisoning by the nerve agent Novichok disappeared.
Navalny survived a murder attempt with Novichok in 2020.
Her voice at times shaking with grief and anger, Ms. Navalnaya urged viewers to stand with her and “share the anger and hatred for those who dared to kill our future.”
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Watch: “I will continue Alexei’s work,” says Navalny’s widow
Navalny's death in prison was announced on Friday. Authorities at the Siberian penal colony where he was held said he never regained consciousness after collapsing after a walk.
His mother and lawyer traveled to the remote colony as soon as news of his death broke.
Attempts to locate the body were repeatedly rebuffed by the prison mortuary and local authorities.
On Monday, the Kremlin said that the investigation into Navalny's death was still ongoing and that there were “no results” so far.
Later, Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said investigators had told Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, that they would not hand over the body for two weeks while they conducted a “chemical analysis.”
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Lyudmila Navalnaya (right) traveled to the remote Siberian region where Navalny was imprisoned
In her video message, filmed in a style recognizably similar to her late husband's style, Ms. Navalnaya said she believed Navalny had been poisoned.
“They hide his body – don't show it to his mother or give it to him – and they lie. They are waiting for the traces of Putin’s latest Novichok to disappear,” she said.
Navalny, who has been the most significant leader of Russia's opposition over the past decade, was serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges many viewed as politically motivated.
Western leaders have blamed President Putin for Navalny's death.
Responding to questions from reporters on Monday, President Joe Biden said: “The fact is: Putin is responsible, whether he ordered it or whether he is responsible for the circumstances he put this man in.”
During a news conference on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that Navalny had been “slowly murdered in a Russian prison by Putin's regime.”
Both the EU and the US have said they are considering new sanctions against Russia following Navalny's death.
British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron also said he expected Britain and the rest of the G7 group of rich nations to impose new sanctions on any Russians involved in the death.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Western politicians' comments on Navalny's death as “arrogant” and “unacceptable.”
Russian prison authorities said over the weekend that Navalny suffered from “sudden death syndrome.”