Whereabouts of Navalny’s body unknown as allies confirm death

Close associates of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny issued a statement on Saturday confirming his death one day earlier in a penal colony in Russia’s far north.

“Alexey Navalny has been killed”, the statement read. “His death occurred on 16 February at 14:17 local time, according to the official notification sent to Alexey’s mother."

It is not, however, known where Navalny’s body is. Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said that Navalny’s lawyer and his mother Lyudmila had flown to the city of Salekhard overnight, arriving on Saturday morning at the penal colony in the village of Kharp where Navalny died.

Yarmysh said that while waiting there for two hours, Navalny’s mother was given a telegram officially informing her of her son’s death, before being told that Navalny’s body had in fact been transferred to Salekhard.

The morgue in Salekhard subsequently told them it did not have Navalny’s body either, Yarmysh said.

“We continue to wait for the official cause of death and the release of the body. We demand that Alexey Navalny’s body be handed over to his family immediately,” Yarmysh said, adding that another of Navalny’s lawyers had gone to Salekhard’s Investigative Committee and was told that a new examination was being carried out, the results of which should be available next week.

“It’s obvious that they are lying and doing everything they can to avoid handing over the body”, Yarmysh wrote.

Other close Navalny associates including Ivan Zhdanov, Maria Pevchikh and Lyubov Sobol also confirmed Navalny’s death.

“Now everything is done. Conclusively. Alexey Navalny has been killed,” Zhdanov wrote.

“Alexey will live forever in millions of hearts, in our thoughts and memories. Otherwise, what are we for?” wrote Pevchikh, adding: “The killers will be punished. … We will not forgive anyone.”