Alexei Navalny’s team demands handing over his body to family

Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny’s team members on Saturday (February 17, 2024) demanded his body ought to be handed over to his household amid widespread criticisms by key world leaders in opposition to President Vladimir Putin over his dying.

Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, wrote on X: “Alexey Navalny was murdered. His dying occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. native time, in accordance to the official message to Alexey’s mom.”

“An worker of the colony mentioned that the body of Navalny is now in Salekhard. It was picked up by investigators from the IC. Now they’re conducting ‘investigations’ with him,” she mentioned.

“We demand that Alexey Navalny’s body be handed over to his household instantly,” she mentioned.

47-year-old Alexey Navalny died in an Arctic jail on Friday.

He was serving a 19-year time period.

Alexey Navalny felt unwell in jail after a stroll and misplaced consciousness. He acquired all crucial resuscitation measures, however they didn’t yield optimistic outcomes, the Federal Ptnitentiary Service acknowledged as quoted by Russia’s Sputnik information company.

Authorities are attempting to determine the reason for his dying.

Commenting on the event, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Sputnik it’s up to medics to discover out causes behind Navalny’s dying.

World leaders criticise Putin

US President Joe Biden mentioned the incident is proof of ‘Putin’s brutality’.

“Aleksey Navalny’s braveness won’t ever be forgotten. This tragedy – additional proof of Putin’s brutality – reminds us of the stakes of this second,” Biden wrote on X.

“Failure to help Ukraine in opposition to his vicious onslaught won’t ever be forgotten,” he mentioned.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau mentioned: “Alexei Navalny fought for democracy, for freedom, and for the Russian individuals. For that, he misplaced his life. We should stand united in opposition to Putin’s actions. And we should proceed to defend democracy – collectively.”

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron posted on X: “Navalny fought bravely in opposition to corruption. Putin’s Russia fabricated costs in opposition to him, poisoned him, despatched him to an arctic penal colony & now he has tragically died. Putin ought to be accountable for what has occurred – nobody ought to doubt the dreadful nature of his regime.”

The UN human rights workplace (OHCHR) mentioned it was “appalled” over the dying introduced by Russian authorities of opposition chief Alexei Navalny in jail, calling for an neutral and clear unbiased investigation.

“If somebody dies within the custody of the State, the presumption is that the State is accountable – a duty that may solely be rebutted by means of an neutral, thorough and clear investigation carried out by an unbiased body,” mentioned OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell, calling on Russia “to guarantee such a reputable investigation is carried out”.