Alexei Navalny’s mother has said she has seen the body of her son – and that officials are trying to force her to hold a private burial ceremony without mourners.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, speaking in a video published on YouTube, said officials had told her that her son’s body was decomposing.
She said officials had threatened to “do something” with the body if she didn’t agree to a secret funeral.
“I’m recording this video because they started threatening me,” she said. “Looking into my eyes, they say that if I do not agree to a secret funeral, they will do something with my son’s body.”
She also quoted an investigator as telling her: “Time is not working for you, corpses are decomposing.”
There was no immediate response from Russian investigators.
Mr Navalny – a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin – died in an Arctic penal colony. His death was announced last Friday.
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Ms Navalnaya has been calling on authorities to release his body to the family since then.
It came as Mr Navalny’s team said his death certificate shows he had died from natural causes.
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Source : Sky News
