Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a staunch opponent of Russian President Putin, recently died under mysterious circumstances in a Russian prison.
According to a spokesperson for Alexei's family, the Russian government has still not returned the body to Alexei's mother or wife, and has instead begun imposing conditions on the return of the body.
Spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on social media that an officer of the investigating agency called Alexei's mother and gave her an ultimatum and said that Alexei's body would have to be buried quietly. His last journey cannot be done in public. Alex's mother is given counting hours to make a decision on the case. Otherwise, Alexey's body would be buried around the prison.
Yarmysh said that Alexei's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, refused to discuss the issue and said she did not have the right to make decisions on the matter.
Navalny's spokesperson says that the Russian government is afraid of Navalny even after his death. The government does not want a large number of people to gather for the last rites. If this happens, the message will be sent that Navalny's movement against Putin is getting support. The Putin government is still insisting on handing over Alexei's body.
On the other hand, many opposition leaders in Russia as well as well-known personalities from various fields have appealed to the government to hand over Alexei's body to his family.