Video call to Putin – Navalny’s mother: “Show me my son”

“I demand that Alexei’s body be returned immediately so that I can bury him humanely,” she said. She has been waiting for the fifth day in front of the Siberian prison camp to see Navalny. She has not yet received the body and has not been told where the body will be kept.

After Navalnaya’s short speech, who was visibly sad, the video showed the Orthodox church on the prison camp grounds behind the barbed wire. According to Russian Orthodox custom, the deceased are actually buried no later than the third day after their death.

Lyudmila Navalnaya’s appeal was published on YouTube:

Does the Kremlin want to cover up murder?
To this day, authorities have denied family members access to Navalny’s body, despite international protests. His team, which accuses the Russian power of murder, sees this as an attempted cover-up. In Russia, more than 70,000 people have already signed an appeal to return the body to relatives.

The Kremlin has not yet responded to Navalnaya’s mother’s call and request. Instead, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Moscow dismissed the accusations made by Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya as “baseless and scandalous.” In a video message on Monday, Putin, 47, blamed Navalny’s death in the prison camp unofficially named “Polar Wolf” and announced she would continue her husband’s fight against the Kremlin chief’s system.

Navalny died on Friday in a prison camp in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal. The politician, weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed during a tour of the icy prison and died despite attempts to revive him. Navalny was 47 years old at the time of his death.

Kremlin spokesman defends brutal crackdown on mourners
Peskov said neither he nor Putin had seen the video message. Considering that “Julia Navalnaya is currently a widow,” he wished to refrain from commenting. At the same time, the Kremlin spokesman defended the brutal actions of security forces against Russians who laid flowers and lit candles in many cities of the country in memory of Putin’s dead opponent. Peskov said the uniformed officers had fulfilled their duties in accordance with the law.

Deputy head of prison authority promoted: “Putin rewards torture”
Meanwhile, Putin’s simultaneous promotion of senior law enforcement officers sparked intense criticism. The deputy head of the prison authority FSIN, Valery Boyarinev, promoted to colonel general of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was personally responsible for the torture of Navalny in prison, wrote the director of the Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK) founded by Navalny: Ivan Zhdanov , on Telegram. “You should understand this as Putin’s open reward for the torture.”

In July 2023, during a court hearing against Navalny, an order from Boyarinew was announced banning the opposition politician from buying food and daily necessities. Normally, prisoners can use their money to supplement their own meager rations in the prison store. According to Zhdanov, the newly appointed colonel general was also responsible for further intimidation of Navalny.

“Ordinary procedure”
The 53-year-old’s promotion became known on Monday, three days after Navalny’s death, with the publication of the presidential decree in the legal database. In addition to Boyarinew, three other correctional officers were promoted to the rank of general. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied any link between Navalny’s death and the promotions. This is a common occurrence, he said.