The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has filed a lawsuit at a court in the Arctic city of Salekhard contesting officials’ refusal to release her son’s body. A closed-door hearing has been scheduled for March 4, according to court officials.
Lyudmila Navalnaya has been trying to retrieve her son’s body since Saturday, following his death in a penal colony in Russia’s far north a day earlier. She has been unable to find out where his body is being held. Navalnaya appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to release her son’s remains so that she could bury him with dignity.
Russian authorities have stated that the cause of Navalny’s death is still unknown and have refused to release his body for the next two weeks as the preliminary inquest continues. Navalny's team has accused the government of stalling to hide evidence.
Since Navalny’s death, about 400 people have been detained across Russia as they tried to pay tribute to him with flowers and candles. Authorities have cordoned off some memorials to victims of Soviet repression that were being used as sites to leave tributes to Navalny. Police have removed the flowers at night, but more keep appearing.
Several men detained at memorials to Navalny were ordered to report to their local army recruitment office, where Russian authorities are actively recruiting volunteer soldiers and updating records of men eligible for service. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected allegations of a cover-up, calling them unfounded.
Over 75,000 people have submitted requests to the government asking for Navalny’s remains to be handed over to his relatives. Navalny’s death has deprived the Russian opposition of its best-known and inspiring politician less than a month before an election that is likely to give Putin another six years in power.
