The widow of Alexei Navalny has claimed her husband was poisoned “by another of Putin’s novichoks” and says she will “soon reveal details” on why he was killed.
In a video statement on Monday, Yulia Navalnaya accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband, and subsequently “hiding” his body to ensure traces of the nerve agent disappear.
It comes after Mr Navalny’s mother was denied access to the morgue where his body is believed to be.
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Mrs Navalnaya vowed to name those involved in his death and said he was killed because Mr Putin “couldn’t break him”.
Yulia Navalnaya said her husband couldn’t be broken by Putin. Pic:free.navalny.com
“Vile and cowardly they are now hiding his body, they are not showing it, not giving it to his mother and they are pathetically lying and waiting for the traces of yet another of Putin’s novichoks to disappear there,” she said.
“My husband could not be broken. And that’s exactly why Putin killed him. Shameful, cowardly, not daring to look into his eyes or simply say his name.
“We will tell you about it soon. We will definitely find out who exactly carried out this crime and how exactly. We will name the names and show the faces.”
Tributes to Navalny. Pic: AP
Many world leaders have blamed Mr Putin and his government for Mr Navalny’s death, accusations that have been fiercely rejected by the Kremlin.
Taking aim at comments made by the US and other Western states, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “obnoxious” statements would not harm the Russian president.
Mother ‘not allowed’ in morgue
The body of the 47-year-old has reportedly been taken to the Salekhard District Clinical Hospital morgue, but Mr Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and his lawyers were “not allowed to go in” after travelling to see his body.
Alexei Navalny’s mother Lyudmila Navalnaya and his lawyer Alexei Tsvetkov. Pic: Reuters
The investigative committee then told Mr Navalny’s allies, including his relative, that his “cause of death is still unknown” and the probe into how he died has been extended, according to Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh.
Ms Yarmysh accused the committee of lying and trying to “buy time for themselves” – alleging that officials’ refusal to hand over his body was part of a cover-up of his “murder”.
“Alexei’s mother and his lawyers arrived at the morgue early in the morning,” she said.
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“They were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers was literally pushed out. When the staff was asked if Alexei’s body was there, they did not answer.”
Widow urges supporters to ‘fight on’
Addressing Mr Navalny’s supporters, Mrs Navalnaya urged them to “stand next” to her and “share the rage, anger, hatred towards those who dared to kill our future”.
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Flowers for Navalny removed from St Petersburg monument
She said she would continue her husband’s work and is not afraid, encouraging her husband’s allies to “fight on”.
“The free, peaceful, just, beautiful Russia of the future, of which my husband dreamed, is what we need. I want to live in,” she said.
Mr Navalny was the most prominent opposition leader in Russia and had been behind bars since he returned to Moscow after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning in 2021.
He died at an Arctic penal colony on Friday, with authorities claiming he collapsed after a walk.
