Navalny Family Claims Russia 'Hiding' His Body

Following the death of Russia's leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Friday, his family is claiming the country is "hiding" his body after a spokesperson for the activist said it was not in the morgue in Salekhard.

The Context:

Navalny, 47, was possibly the most-prominent figure of the Russian political opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin's rule. At the time of his death, he was serving a cumulative three-decade sentence for fraud, inciting and financing extremism, and other charges that were widely considered politically motivated.

On Friday, Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service announced that Navalny died in prison after allegedly fainting following a walk. While Russian state news outlet RT claimed that Navalny died from a blood clot, suspicions of an assassination were immediately cast on Putin.

In 2020, Navalny had been poisoned by nerve agent Novichok, with a joint investigation by Russian news website The Insider and Netherlands-based investigative journalism group Bellingcat blaming the attack on Russian intelligence agents. The Kremlin denied having anything to do with the poisoning.

What We Know:

Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said Navalny's mother and lawyer had visited the morgue to find it closed, despite assurances from the prison colony that it was working and Navalny's body was there.

"Alexei's body is not in the morgue," Yarmysh wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

In addition, Navalny's mother and lawyer previously had visited the correctional facility in the village of Kharp where Navalny had been held when the politician's mother was handed a notification of his death, indicating that his body was held in the Salekhard morgue, with ongoing investigations underway.

While an employee at the morgue told Reuters that Navalny's body never reached the facility.

"It's obvious that they are lying and doing everything they can to avoid handing over the body," Yarmysh wrote on X.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian government via an online form for comment.

Views:

Following his death, world leaders have expressed grief and widely blamed Putin for it.

President Joe Biden said on Friday in remarks sent to Newsweek by the White House: "What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin's brutality. No one should be fooled—not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world. Putin does not only target his [the] citizens of other countries, as we've seen what's going on in Ukraine right now, he also inflicts terrible crimes on his own people."

Vice President Kamala Harris reacted to Navalny's death and said at the Munich Security Conference, "Let us be clear, Russia is responsible."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters at a joint news conference in Berlin with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz that "it is obvious for me that he [Navalny] was killed."

Six months before his death, Navalny wrote of his hopes for his country, his love for his family and for literature, and the maxim that shaped his thinking. "I believe that Russia will be happy and free," he said. "And I do not believe in death."

What's Next?

Reaction to Navalny's death has been widespread, with protests taking place in Russia and vigils hosted in other countries.

Although Navalny's team said they are still no closer to finding out where the politician's body is being held, Yarmysh has said that Navalny's team "demand that Alexei Navalny's body be handed over to his family immediately."

Update 2/17/24, 2:25 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information

Update 2/17/24 2:48 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.