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Navalny's family said Russian authorities were storing his body after he died in a penal colony last week.
The body of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, his spokesman and aide said.
“Alexei's body has been handed over to his mother. Thank you to everyone who requested this from us,” Mr. Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh said on Saturday's X program.
Details of funeral arrangements have not yet been decided, Yarmis said, and it is unclear whether authorities will intervene.
Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, also confirmed the news on his Telegram account, thanking “everyone” who called on Russian authorities to return the body.
Mr Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, previously accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of mocking Orthodox Christian values and “torturing” Mr Navalny's body, demanding that it be released for burial. Was.
“You tortured him alive and continue to torture him now. You are mocking the bodies of the dead,” she said in a video message to Putin.
Mr Navalny, widely seen as Russia's most prominent opposition spokesperson, arrived last week in a high-security Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on charges of “extremism.” Died.
Many world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Joe Biden, condemned Navalny's death and said it was clear Russia was responsible for his death.
However, Russia denies responsibility, saying he died of natural causes.