Russian authorities threaten to bury Navalny on prison grounds, aides say

Russian authorities have warned Aleksei A. Navalny’s mother that if she does not agree to a secret funeral, the late opposition campaigner will be buried by the state on prison grounds, Mr. Navalny’s spokeswoman said.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, Mr. Navalny’s mother, was given three hours to agree — or until about 12:30 p.m. EST — but she refused to negotiate, arguing that Russian authorities had no legal right to determine the time and place of to determine her son’s funeral. according to Mr. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh.

“She demands compliance with the law, which requires investigators to hand over the body within two days, from the time the cause of death is determined,” Ms. Yarmysh said in a statement released on X. The two days expire on Saturday.

Mr Navalny’s mother “insists that the authorities allow a funeral and memorial service to be held in accordance with tradition,” Ms Yarmysh added.

The ultimatum is the latest twist in a macabre saga in which Mr Navalny’s 69-year-old mother has been trying for almost a week to retrieve her son’s body from an Arctic morgue in Russia, near the prison where he died.

His death was announced on February 16.

Ms Navalnaya had to wait five days before Russian authorities showed her the body on Wednesday. She later signed a medical report claiming he died of natural causes. She has accused authorities of “blackmailing” her by refusing to release her son’s remains until she agrees to a secret funeral without a public farewell.

The standoff has led to an outpouring of support for Mr Navalny’s family from celebrities, who have released videos demanding that Russian authorities hand over the body. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov, Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich and director Andrei Zvyagintsev were among those who released video messages.

“It is uncomfortable to even discuss this in a country that until now still considers itself Christian,” Dmitri A. Muratov, the Nobel Prize-winning Russian editor, said in a video.