Navalny’s body handed over to his mother

Navalny’s family and supporters have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having him killed, an accusation that the Kremlin has rejected. He survived a poisoning attempt in 2020 and years of harsh treatment in prison, including long spells in solitary confinement.

Navalny’s team said on X on Thursday that his death certificate says he died of natural causes.

In a video recorded before the release of the body, Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya accused “demonic” Putin of “torturing” the corpse of a political opponent.

Navalny’s allies urged supporters “not to relax” and his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, wrote on X there was no certainty that Russian authorities would let relatives hold a funeral “the way the family wants and the way Alexei deserves”.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies, in a statement pledging support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, urged Moscow to fully clarify the circumstances around Navalny’s death and to free “all unjustly detained prisoners”.

“We will hold those culpable for Navalny’s death accountable, including by continuing to impose restrictive measures in response to human rights violations and abuses in Russia and taking other actions,” the G7 added.

In her six-minute video published on YouTube, Navalnaya stated she would continue the fight against “Putin’s regime”, questioned the president’s faith, and accused him of holding her husband’s body “hostage”.

On Friday Navalny’s mother Lyudmila said Russian investigators were refusing to release his body from a morgue in Salekhard until she agreed to lay him to rest without a public funeral.

She added an official had told her that she should agree to their demands, as Navalny’s body was already decomposing.

On Saturday, Navalny aides stated the authorities had threatened to bury him in the remote prison colony where he died unless his family agreed to their conditions.