Alexei Navalny's mother confirms his death as family demands for body to be returned

The mother of the late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was seen in Kharp on Saturday, near the Russian penal colony where her son died, according to Russian prison authorities. Credit: AP

A spokesperson for Alexei Navalny has confirmed his death in a social media post while his mother has been seen visiting the prison where he died.

"Alexey Navalny was murdered. His death occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time, according to the official message to Alexey’s mother," Kira Yarmysh wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, confirming reports of his death by Russian prison officials.

"An employee of the colony said that the body of Navalny is now in Salekhard. It was picked up by investigators from the IC. Now they are conducting 'investigations' with him," the post read."We demand that Alexey Navalny's body be handed over to his family immediately."

The statement came as Alexei Navalny's mother was seen visiting the prison where he had been detained, according to Russian officials.

The mother of the late Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was seen in Kharp on Saturday, near the Russian penal colony where her son died, according to Russian prison authorities.

Lyudmila Navalnaya and a lawyer visited a morgue in Salekhard, thinking it was where Mr Navalny would be, they wrote on Telegram, but it was closed. The lawyer called the morgue and were told that the body was not there, his team said.

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service reported that Navalny felt sick after a walk Friday and lost consciousness at the penal colony, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.

An ambulance arrived, but he couldn’t be revived” it said. According to a close ally of Mr Navalny, prison authorities told the politician's mother that he had died of "sudden death syndrome".

Mr Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.

He was later convicted three times, saying each case was politically motivated, and received a sentence of 19 years for extremism.

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