The mother of deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says she was finally able to see her son’s body. Russian authorities, who ruled Navalny died of natural causes, had prevented her from seeing him for nearly a week following his death. Lyudmila Navalnaya says authorities are now attempting to blackmail her into holding a secret burial, away from public view. She posted this video on YouTube.
Lyudmila Navalnaya: “I am recording this video because they started threatening me. Looking me in the eye, the investigators say that if I don’t agree to a secret funeral, they will do something with my son’s body. The investigator Voropayev openly told me, 'Time is not working for you. Corpses decompose.' I don’t want special conditions. I just want everything to be done according to the law. I demand receiving my son’s body immediately.”
Meanwhile, President Biden met with Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, a student at Stanford, in California Thursday. The U.S. has announced more than 500 new sanctions against Russia today. On Wednesday, Biden reportedly called Putin a “crazy SOB” while at a San Francisco fundraiser. The Kremlin has accused Western leaders of “hysteria” around Navalny’s death.