Flowers outside Russian embassy in Copenhagen – just one of the cities paying their respects
The family of Alexei Navalny, a critic of President Vladimir Putin who died in a Russian prison, has reportedly been told that his body will not be released for two weeks.
Navalny’s representative said he had been informed that his mother was being detained for “chemical analysis.”
There has been no confirmation from Russian authorities about the whereabouts of the bodies, but efforts to find them have repeatedly been halted.
The wife of the late Russian opposition leader accused them of hiding it.
In a video on Monday, Yulia Navalnaya vowed to continue fighting for a “free Russia” and directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband. She also claimed that her body had been kept until all traces of her poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok had disappeared.
At times, her voice shaking with sadness and anger, Navalnaya urged viewers to stand by her side and “share our anger and hatred for those who dared to kill our future.”
Video: “I will continue Alexei’s work,” says Navalny’s widow
Navalny’s death in prison was announced on Friday. Authorities at the Siberian penal colony where he was being held said he never regained consciousness after collapsing after a walk.
His mother and lawyer left for the remote colony as soon as the news of his death broke.
Efforts to find the bodies have been repeatedly called off by the prison mortuary and local authorities.
The Kremlin said on Monday that an investigation into Navalny’s death was ongoing and “no results are available” at this time.
Later, Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh said investigators had told his mother Lyudmila that they would not hand over the body for two weeks while a “chemical analysis” was carried out.
Lyudmila Navalnaya (right) visits the remote region of Siberia where Navalny is imprisoned.
Navalny said in a video message that he believed authorities were waiting for the Novichok to disappear from Navalny’s body.
Navalny, the most important leader of Russia’s opposition for the past decade, was serving a 19-year sentence on charges that many considered to be politically motivated.
Western leaders have placed the blame for Navalny’s death squarely on Putin.
“The fact of the matter is, is President Putin responsible, did he order it or was he responsible for the situation that he put that person in,” President Joe Biden said in response to a question from reporters Monday. said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at a press conference on Monday that Navalny was “slowly murdered in Russian prisons by the Putin regime.”
The European Union and the United States said they were considering new sanctions against Russia following Navalny’s death.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also said he expected Britain and the rest of the Group of Seven rich countries to impose new sanctions on Russians involved in the deaths.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Western politicians’ statements about Navalny’s death were “arrogant” and “unacceptable.”
Russian prison authorities said over the weekend that Navalny was suffering from “sudden death syndrome.”