The family of Alexei Navalny have reportedly been told that his body will be held for ‘chemical analysis’ and will not be released for two weeks.
There has been no confirmation of the whereabouts of the body from Russian authorities, while efforts to locate it have been repeatedly shut down.
His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, in a post on X, had demanded the return of his body.
“Give back Alexei’s body and let him be buried with dignity,”
In a video on Monday vowing to continue his work to fight for a “free Russia” Navalnaya directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband.
With her voice shaking with grief and anger, she asked viewers to stand alongside her and “share the fury and hate for those who dared to kill our future”.
She also alleged her husband’s body was being kept until traces of poisoning by the nerve agent Novichok had disappeared.
Navalny survived an attempt to kill him using the poison in 2020.
On Tuesday, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the accusations “unfounded and vulgar”, but added that since Navalnaya was widowed just days ago he wouldn’t comment further.
Navalny’s death in prison was announced on Friday and the authorities at the Siberian penal colony where he was being held said he never regained consciousness after he collapsed following a walk.
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