Russian authorities are threatening to bury Alexei Navalny on the territory of the penal colony where he died, the opponent's team assured on Friday, accusing investigators of wanting to prevent a public funeral that could mobilize his supporters.
• Also read: Alexei Navalny's mother says she saw her son's body
Previously, more than twenty Kremlin-critical figures from the Russian cultural and media world had called on the authorities to hand over Alexei Navalny's body to his relatives, who had been asking for it since his death there a week ago.
“An hour ago, an investigator called Alexei's mother and gave her an ultimatum. Either she accepts a secret funeral within three hours without a public farewell, or Alexei will be buried in the penal colony, the spokeswoman for the late opponent, Kira Iarmich, announced on X (ex-Twitter).
“She refuses to negotiate with the investigative committee because it does not have the authority to decide when and how her son will be buried,” she added.
Kira Iarmich said that Alexei Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaïa, continued to ask authorities to hand over her son's body and allow a public funeral.
The day before, Ms Navalnaïa claimed she had finally been able to see her son's body, while accusing Russian authorities of “blackmailing” her into secretly burying him.
Relatives of Alexei Navalny assure that the Russian authorities “killed” the opponent in prison and are trying to prevent a public funeral in order to prevent any demonstrations of support from the Russians.
In the 2010s, before the repressive machinery fell fully on him, Mr. Navalny managed to mobilize crowds, especially in Moscow, securing his status as Vladimir Putin's No. 1 opponent.
And despite the repression that has decimated the opposition, a public funeral could theoretically mobilize its supporters.
His team called the police, military or members of the security services on Friday to provide them with information about the “murder” of Alexei Navalny.
In return, “we promise you a reward of 20,000 euros and the organization of your departure if you wish,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter what your status is or whether you share Alexei Navalny’s political views. There are basic human principles: you cannot abuse a mother and blackmail her with the corpse of her murdered son,” his team wrote on Telegram.
“Always afraid” of Navalny
The team of the anti-corruption activist, who died under unclear circumstances in his penal colony in the Arctic last week, has been spreading calls from numerous personalities on social networks since Thursday evening.
Among them are the Nobel Peace Prize winner and journalist Dmitri Mouratov, the director Andreï Zvyagintsev, the Nobel Prize winner for literature Svetlana Alexievitch, the writer Viktor Chenderovitch and the activist of the protest group Pussy Riot Nadejda Tolokonnikova.
“It is embarrassing to say this in a country that still considers itself Christian, but to give Lyudmila Ivanovna (Navalnaya, editor's note) her son,” said Mr. Muratov, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
“Putin was afraid of Navalny for many years when he was still alive. And Putin is afraid of Navalny after his death – after he killed Navalny, he is still afraid of him,” said Mr. Chenderovitch, who was exiled for his criticism of the offensive in Ukraine and declared a “foreign agent” by Moscow. was explained.
Hundreds of people were arrested by police in Russia last week as they honored the memory of the Russian president's main opponent, who has still not publicly commented on the death.