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Russian authorities arrested opposition chief Alexei A. Navalny's physique has been turned over to his mom, his spokeswoman mentioned Saturday, ending a bitter battle for custody of his stays, however it’s unclear whether or not he’ll get a funeral that the general public can attend.
“Alexey’s physique has been handed over to his mom,” Kira Yarmysh, Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman, mentioned in a press release. Posted On social media. “The final rites are but to return. We don't know whether or not the authorities will intervene to make this occur the best way the household desires and as Alexei deserves.”
Ms Yarmysh mentioned Mr Navalny's mom, Lyudmila Navalny, was on Saturday within the northern metropolis of Salekhard, close to the Arctic jail the place Mr Navalny was reported to have died on February 16. He mentioned the opposition chief's crew would launch details about the funeral “as quickly because it turns into out there”.
Mr Navalny's household and associates have accused Russian authorities of holding his physique hostage and “blackmailing” his mom into agreeing to bury him in secret. On Friday, Ms. Yarmysh mentioned Salekhard officers had given Ms. Navalnaya an ultimatum demanding that she consent to such a secret funeral inside three hours, in any other case she could be buried on the jail grounds.
That deadline handed on Friday night with none new data from Mr Navalny’s associates. Russian officers haven’t commented on Navalny's crew's model of occasions. The circumstances of Mr Navalny's demise stay unclear; In response to Ms. Yarmysh, Ms. Navalnaya obtained a medical report earlier this week that mentioned she died of pure causes.
The information that Ms Navalny, 69, had been granted custody of the physique steered Russian authorities had relented after a day-long social media marketing campaign by Mr Navalny's crew. On Saturday, Mr Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, 47, launched a six-minute YouTube video condemning Russian President Vladimir V. Putin after he “mocked Alexei's mom and despatched her to a secret funeral Pressured to comply with the rites.” ,
Now the query is how will Mr Navalny's final rites be carried out. The controversy over possession of his physique displays the Kremlin's worry of public funerals turning into a focus of opposition in Moscow.