The mother of now-deceased Russian dissident Alexei Navalny is pleading with Russian president Vladimir Putin to let her see his body.
Lyudmila Navalnaya asked Putin Tuesday to release her son’s body so she can bury him with dignity in a video taken outside of the Arctic penal colony where her son died on Friday.
“I have not been able to see his body for five days, they have not even handed it over to me and have not even told me where it is,” she said.
“I appeal to you, Vladimir Putin, the resolution to the issue depends solely on you,” she added. “Let me finally see my son. I demand that Alexei’s body be immediately handed over so that I can humanely bury him.”
Kira Yarmysh, a spokesperson for Navalny said Tuesday his mother and lawyers were not allowed to go into the morgue and see his body.
“Alexey’s mother and his lawyers arrived at the morgue early in the morning,” Yarmysh posted on X Tuesday. “They were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers was literally pushed out. When the staff was asked if Alexey’s body was there, they did not answer,” she added.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny’s death and said it is investigating the matter. Yarmysh said Monday that Russian authorities are using the investigation to buy time and it’s unclear how long it will take.
The Russian dissident’s widow Yulia shared the video and Navalny’s team uploaded it to his YouTube channel. Yulia Navalnaya attributed her husband’s death to Putin in a video message released Monday and promised to continue her husband’s advocacy against the Putin regime. She accused Putin of having her husband poisoned with Novichok and hiding the body to conceal evidence of the deadly nerve agent.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Navalnaya’s “boorish” accusations as unsubstantiated. Russian authorities announced Navalny’s death Friday morning and blamed it on a sudden incident.
Navalnaya shot back Monday afternoon calling Peskov the “killer’s press secretary” and demanded her husband’s body be returned. She urged European leaders on Monday to hold Putin accountable for Navalny’s death at a speech delivered to the EU Foreign Affairs Council.
President Joe Biden also attributed Navalny’s death to Putin in a speech delivered Friday afternoon upon the initial news of Navalny’s passing. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday the Biden administration will announce this upcoming Friday a “major sanctions package” against Russia in the wake of Navalny’s death.