17 February 2024 , 14:40
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Russian officials have released what they claim was Alexei Navalny's cause of death, despite refusing to release his body over to his family.
This morning Navalny's mum was told by officials that his cause of death sudden death syndrome, but the family remain sure that he was murdered by Russian officials on the order of Putin. This sentiment was echoed by western leaders across the world. US President Joe Biden said: "Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,".
Meanwhile, Russian officials have refused point blank to hand over the body and it has seemingly gone missing this morning, furthering suspicion that Putin, or one of his supplicants, had a role in Navalny's death and they're now seeking to hide the evidence.
Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny's anti-corruption group, FBK, said that the activist's mum had been told he had died from sudden death syndrome when she arrived at the penal colony this morning to collect the body. According to Kira Yarmysh, a spokeswoman for Navalny, the body was eventually revealed to have been with held by Russian authorities who wanted to carry out a post-mortem - but lawyers were informed such investigations had already finished.
She said: "Alexei's lawyer and his mother have arrived at the Salekhard morgue. It's closed, however, the colony has assured them it's working and Navalny's body is there. The lawyer called the phone number which was on the door. He was told he was the seventh caller today. Alexey's body is not in the morgue."
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When Navalny was last seen he was joking and in good spirits just one day before he was announced to have died (SotaMedia/e2w)They continued: "Another of Navalny's lawyers, who went to Salekhard's Investigative Committee, was told that "the cause of Alexey's death has not yet been established, a new histological examination has been carried out. The results will supposedly be available next week. It’s obvious that they are lying and doing everything they can to avoid handing over the body.
"Now the Investigation Committee says directly that Alexey's body will not be handed over to his relatives until the investigation is complete. An hour ago, the lawyers were told that the check was completed and no crime had been found. They literally lie every time, drive in circles and cover their tracks."
It comes as Foreign Office officials have summoned the Russian Embassy amid anger in Western capitals over the death of the jailed opposition leader. Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said Russian President Vladimir Putin must be held accountable, as he warned that there should be "consequences" for the Moscow leader, of whom Mr Navalny was one of the most prominent and persistent critics even while behind bars.
Before the official cause of his death was announced, Navalny's team were hesitant to confirm his passing given that it had only come from state sources. Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s chief of staff said on Friday: "We have no grounds to believe state propaganda. If it’s true, then it’s not 'Navalny died', but 'Putin killed Navalny', nothing else. But I don’t believe them for a second."
Alexei Navalny before his death (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Just one day before his death, Navalny heartbreakingly posted for his wife Yulia on Valentine's day: "Baby, I know that everything is like in the song – there are cities between us, airport landing lights, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometres. But I feel you by my side every second and I love you all the more."
In an earlier post on X, formerly Twitter, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described Mr Navalny as "the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy" who had "demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life". He said: "My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy." Security minister Tom Tugendhat went a step further, accusing Mr Putin's regime of having murdered Navalny to silence him.
Navalny campaigned against official corruption and organised major anti-government protests and has been behind bars since January 2021. He was arrested on his return from Germany, where he had been recuperating after a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin, on charges he dismissed as part of a politically motivated vendetta. Since the start of his imprisonment, the opposition leader had remained a thorn in the side of Putin via scathing attacks that his associates continued to post on social media.
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has called on the international community to unite in holding the "terrible" and "evil" regime in Moscow responsible in the wake of the news. Navalny had been moved in December from his former prison in the Vladimir region of central Russia to a "special regime" penal colony, the highest security level of prisons in Russia, above the Arctic Circle.
His allies decried the transfer to the town of Kharp, in the remote Yamalo-Nenets region notorious for its long and severe winters, as yet another attempt to silence him. The opposition leader was convicted in 2013 of embezzlement, but later the prosecutor's office surprisingly demanded his release pending appeal, after which a higher court gave him a suspended sentence. Many observers attributed his release to a desire by authorities to add a tinge of legitimacy to the mayoral election in Moscow, in which he had registered as a candidate. Navalny ultimately finished second in the contest, which was seen as an impressive outcome, as the incumbent had the backing of Putin's political machine.