Navalny's Mother Demands Putin Returns Son's Body

Facts

• A Russian court has scheduled a closed-door hearing for March 4 in response to a lawsuit filed by Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died at a penal colony last week.¹
• Navalnaya, who has reportedly made unsuccessful attempts to retrieve her son's body since Saturday, has appealed to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin to release her late son's corpse so that she can 'bury him humanely.'²
• Though she acknowledged that investigators have allowed her to see Navalny's body, Navalnaya alleges Russian authorities are pressuring her into holding a secret burial while she has the legal right over her son's remains.³
• Navalnaya admitted to having signed the death certificate after reviewing all the medical and legal documents. However, she claims Russian officials are 'threatening' her to agree to a secret funeral under multiple conditions, including not holding 'a mourning ceremony.'⁴
• Meanwhile, Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnya, has accused Putin of killing her husband, alleging that Russian authorities are holding his body so as to conceal evidence. However, the Kremlin terms the allegations 'absolutely unfounded, [and] insolent.'⁵
• Russian investigators say they might not return Navalny's remains for at least two weeks while they conduct 'tests.' Prison authorities claim that Navalny fell ill after a walk and shortly after became unconscious, and though paramedics tried to save him, he couldn't be revived.⁶

Sources: ¹FOX News, ²Al Jazeera, ³BBC News, ⁴France 24, ⁵CBS and ⁶The Guardian.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Anyone who isn't completely under the spell of Russian propaganda knows that Putin ordered the death of his staunchest critic. However, the Kremlin's cruelty in the matter didn't end with Navalny's murder, as authorities are now blackmailing his mother into holding a secret burial service. It's clear that investigators are trying to buy time before an independent examination can take place, so as to sweep the killing under the rug.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. Allegations about Pres. Putin being implicated in the death of Alexei Navalny are baseless. Putin's critics, particularly in the West, have been making false allegations about the Kremlin for years. Navalny died of natural causes, and this media hysteria is just Western propaganda to perpetuate widespread Russophobia.

Predictions