Russian authorities called Alexei Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and gave her an ultimatum: Agree to a secret funeral for her son or they will bury Navalny in the prison colony.
“Either she agrees to a secret funeral without a public farewell within three hours, or Alexei will be buried in a colony,” Navalny’s aide Ivan Zhdanov wrote on his Telegram channel.
Navalnaya refused to negotiate with the Investigative Committee and insists on a proper funeral. She demanded that the committee follow the rule of law.
Zhdanov claims that investigators should have released the body within two days of establishing the cause of death. According to the medical documents Navalnaya signed, after she was finally allowed to see her son Wednesday night — six days after his death — these two days expire on Saturday.
A week after Russian authorities announced the opposition politician’s death, they still haven’t released the body.
“This is a complete disgrace. Rock bottom that no one could have imagined,” Navalny’s press secretary said in a video. “It was impossible to imagine that treachery could be so boundless.”
Meanwhile, Navalny’s team appealed to Russian security service to share information on Navalny’s death.