Navalny’s mother accuses Russian authorities of ‘blackmailing’ her into ‘secretly’ burying her son

The mother of Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny said Thursday that she had been able to see the body of her son, after several days of waiting, but accused the Russian authorities of using “blackmail” against her to bury him “secretly”.

“They are blackmailing me”

“They want everything to be done secretly, without ceremony, they want to take me to the confines of a cemetery, near a fresh grave, and tell me ‘here lies your son’. I do not agree with this,” said Lyoudmila Navalnaïa, in a video released Thursday by the opponent’s team. Lyudmila 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 Yamalo-Nenetsia district, a region in the Far North where Alexeï Navalny officially died in detention on February 16.

According to his mother, investigators have already established the cause of death, “and all the legal and medical documents are ready.” According to the opponent’s team, the cause of death is listed as “natural”. “Legally, they should have immediately returned Alexei’s body to me, but they did not do so. Instead, they are blackmailing me,” criticized the opposing mother.

“I am recording this video because they started threatening me. Looking me in the eyes, they say that if I refuse a secret funeral, they will do something with his body. The investigator (…) m He said openly, ‘Time is against you, the corpse decomposes,’ she said. “I want for you, those for whom Alexei was a loved one, for whom his death was a personal tragedy, there is an opportunity to say goodbye to him,” continued the opponent’s mother.

Since Saturday, Lyoudmila Navalnaïa had sought access to his body, with investigators ensuring that “expertise” was necessary. She even turned to President Vladimir Putin to win her case. The team of Vladimir Putin’s main adversary, who died after three years of imprisonment in increasingly trying conditions, accuses the Kremlin of having Alexeï Navalny killed and of seeking to cover up his traces.