MOSCOW.- A diverse group of prominent personalities from the cultural world in Russia They made an urgent call to the authorities to facilitate the delivery of the body of Alexei Navalny to your loved ones. This request arises amid accusations of pressure on the family to proceed with a discreet burial of the prominent opponent.
Since Thursday night, the circle close to the anti-corruption activist, who died last week in a penal colony in the Arctic under circumstances not yet clarified, has been spreading the voices of these influential personalities in the Russian cultural sphere on social networks.
Among the signatories, figures such as the Nobel Peace Prize winner and journalist, Dmitri Muratov; the acclaimed film director, Andrey Sviaguintsev; the renowned writer, Viktor Shenderovich; and the activist of the protest group Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova.
“Just give Lyudmila her son,” Muratov said, adding: “It is uncomfortable to talk about this in a country that still considers itself Christian.”
“Putin feared Navalny for many years and continues to fear him after his death. After finishing him off, he still fears him,” said Shenderovich, who was labeled by Russian authorities as a “foreign agent” due to his criticism of Navalny. government policy, especially in relation to the situation in Ukraine.
“We were imprisoned for allegedly trampling on traditional values. But no one tramples traditional Russian values more than you, Putin, your officials and your priests who pray for all the murders you commit, year after year, day after day,” Tolokonnikova said.
“Putin, be conscientious, hand over the body of her son to his mother,” he added.
Navalny’s entourage denounces that the Russian authorities played a role in his death while he was in custody, and are trying to prevent public funerals from being held to avoid any show of support from the Russian people.
Ultimatum to Navalni’s mother
Ivan Zhdanova close collaborator of Navalni, reported on Friday that the Russian authorities have issued an ultimatum to the mother of the deceased opposition leader, Lyudmila Navalnayagiving him a deadline to agree to a private funeral for his son or else he would be buried in a prison facility.
However, Navalnaya refuses to continue negotiations and demands that the authorities comply with the law, handing over the body within 48 hours after the official determination of the cause of death, a deadline that expires on Saturday, according to Zhdanov. In addition, he filed a complaint accusing the authorities of violating the integrity of the corpse.
“She insists that the authorities allow funerals and memorial services to be held according to tradition,” Zhdanov emphasized.
Navalny’s mother and lawyers have been fighting to recover his body since last week, with the backing of prominent Russian figures.
On Thursday, Lyudmila Navalnaya reported that investigators allowed her to see her son’s body in the morgue in the Arctic city of Salekhard. She expressed insistence that her body be returned and she denounced what she described as intense pressure to agree to a secret burial.
“They are blackmailing me. “They are imposing conditions on where, when and how my son should be buried,” he declared Thursday in a video message. “They want it to be done in secret, without a mourning ceremony.”
Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh confirmed on X, formerly Twitter, that the mother was also shown a medical certificate indicating that the 47-year-old politician had died of “natural causes,” although she did not specify what those causes were.
Alexei Navalny, 47, Russia’s most prominent opposition politician, died unexpectedly on February 16 in a penal colony in the Arctic, triggering expressions of condolences throughout the country. Russian authorities have detained numerous people in an attempt to suppress any significant show of sympathy for President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
Source: With information from AFP and AP
