After days of struggling with the Russian power apparatus, the mother of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in custody, received his body. Now the family can bury Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s opponent. “We don’t know if the authorities will let it happen the way the family wants and how Alexei deserves it,” said Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of the Russian opposition leader, called for a public funeral so that not only family members but also supporters could say goodbye to the Russian opposition leader. “We will release information about this as it comes in,” Jarmysch said.
It was previously said that the 69-year-old mother was considering a burial at the Khovanskoye cemetery, the largest of more than 100 resting places in the Russian capital. Lyudmila Navalnaya had rejected investigators’ request to agree to a secret burial and publicly accused authorities of blackmail.
In the Russian Orthodox Church it is customary for the dead to be buried after three days. However, authorities did not release his body until the ninth day after his death.
Navalny’s confidante speaks of a defeat for Putin
Navalny’s confidante Leonid Volkov spoke of a defeat for President Putin for his failure to simply keep the dead man hidden. Great people around the world have convinced the ‘man-eater’ Putin to release the dead man and stop mocking the corpse of his victim. “But this is not a victory,” Volkov, who lives in exile in the Baltic states, wrote on the Telegram news service.
People who had been laying flowers and lighting candles for Navalny for days in public places and memorials to victims of political persecution had added to the pressure on Putin.
Civil rights activists again reported dozens of arrests in several cities on Saturday. On the ninth day after the death, a line of people formed outside Moscow’s Cathedral of the Savior, the main church of the Russian Orthodox Church, to pay their last respects to Navalny. Mourners also gathered in other churches.
Relatives and supporters of the opposition activist had been calling on Russian leaders for days to hand over the body so Navalny could receive a humane burial. Navalny’s team thanked prominent Russians for publicly pressuring him with videos.
“They violate every human and divine law”
Widow Yulia Navalnaya and her daughter again demanded the return of their relative’s remains on Saturday. “They tortured him alive and continue to torture him to death,” she said in a video message. “They violate every human and divine law.” She accused Putin of continuing to torture Alexei’s mother and trying to break her.
Although Putin poses in Russian Orthodox churches with a candle in his hand and kisses icons, he is actually driven by hatred and revenge. “No, it’s not even hatred, it’s Satanism, paganism,” Navalnaya said. At the same time, the 47-year-old condemned Putin’s war against Ukraine, for which he also used the church.
The Kremlin leader is leading the campaign against the West by relying on traditional values. “But you just kill and bomb sleeping civilians at night with rockets blessed in the church,” Navalnaya said. The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, is a confidant of Putin and a staunch supporter of the war against Ukraine. Clerics repeatedly publicly bless rockets.
Sharp criticism from all sides
According to authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in the prison camp with the unofficial name ‘Arctic Wolf’ in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal. The circumstances of his death are not clear. The politician, weakened by the poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed during a tour of the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to revive him. According to Navalny’s team, the death certificate lists “natural” causes.
Navalny’s associates, as well as his wife, human rights activists, supporters and other opposition figures accuse Putin of killing his main political opponent. Putin specifically had Navalny killed before the March 17 presidential election as a “mafioso,” jailed opposition figure Ilya Yashin wrote in a letter. Putin had his critic, seen as a symbol of hope, killed as a clear signal to society “so that no one would think of questioning his status.” “The mafioso asserts real power through a demonstration of violence and cruelty,” Yashin wrote. It is difficult not to despair after the ‘triumph of the bandit’ who kills with impunity. But the fight must continue. “Otherwise we’ll all become zombies.”
The G7 group of seven leading industrial countries, including Germany, praised “the extraordinary courage of Alexei Navalny” in a statement published on Saturday. The group stands behind his wife, his children and everyone who was close to him. Navalny sacrificed his life in the fight against corruption in the Kremlin and for free and fair elections in Russia. At the same time, the G7 calls on Russia to release other political prisoners and end the persecution of dissidents. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
