By Yuliya Talmazan —
NBC News
The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday accused Russia of hiding his body to cover up what she described as a murder at an Arctic penal colony.
Yulia Navalnaya, who vowed to continue her late husband's fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin, called on Russian citizens to join her in a long videotaped speech.
His comments came after Navalny's team indicated that his mother and lawyers had been denied access to his body and that the investigation into his death had been expanded.
Yulia Navalnaya participates in a meeting of the European Union in Brussels, on February 19, 2024. Yves Herman / Pool via AFP / Getty Images
“Three days ago, Vladimir Putin killed my husband,” Navalnaya, 47, said in a nine-minute video posted on YouTube before her meeting in Brussels with European Union foreign ministers.
He added that authorities were waiting for traces of “another Putin Novichok” to emerge from his body, a reference to the military agent used to poison him years ago.
The Russian government has denied involvement in the poisoning and on Friday rejected suggestions that Putin was behind his death.
"Keep fighting"
Yulia vowed to continue her husband's efforts to achieve a free Russia.
“We know exactly why Putin killed Alexei three days ago.
We will tell you soon.
We will also definitely find out
who and how exactly this crime was committed.
We will give names and show faces,” she said in the video.
“The most important thing we can do for Alexei and for ourselves is to keep fighting,” he added.
“I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny,” Navalnaya insisted.
“I ask you to be by my side.”
Russian prison authorities reported that Navalny died suddenly after collapsing after a walk on Friday afternoon through the remote 'Polar Wolf' prison.
The news sparked outrage, with many international leaders pointing the finger at Putin, while the scattered Russian opposition reeled from the loss of one of the government's staunchest enemies, from where they have mocked the Western reaction and urged the world to await the results of an official investigation into the death.
[Alexei Navalny's mother demands that the body of her dead son be handed over to her under strange conditions]
But Navalny's supporters have rejected the official version of events.
On Monday morning, spokeswoman Kyra Yarmysh stated that Navalny's mother and his lawyers had been denied access to the nearby morgue.
They were told that
the investigation into her cause of death had been expanded
and it was unclear how long it would take, she said.
“They were not allowed to enter.
One of the lawyers was literally pushed out.
When staff were asked if Alexey's body was there, they did not respond," Yarmash said in a series of messages on X. The drama centered on the Arctic city of Salekhard, where prison officials indicated over the weekend that the body had been taken, according to Yarmysh.
Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny in a file image. Pavel Golovkin / AP
The country's main investigative body, the Investigative Committee, told him that “the cause of death remains 'unknown,'” Yarmash said.
“They lie, they buy time and they don't even hide it,” he added.
There were no immediate updates Monday from the Commission of Inquiry on the status of the process or when the body may be released.
Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his call with reporters on Monday that the investigation was ongoing, but there were no results yet.
He reiterated that the “frankly rude” accusations that blamed them for Navalny's death were “unacceptable” when there are still no conclusions.
[Biden denounces “brutality” in Russia: “Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death”]
In addition, he stated that questions about when Navalny's body could be returned to his family were also not up to the Government.
Navalny, 47, was serving a 30 and a half year prison sentence when he died.
He was recently transferred to the prison located above the Arctic Circle, where conditions were harsh and his allies were concerned about his health and his frequent isolation in the punishment cell.
However, his family commented that he appeared to be in good health before his death, and in video footage of a court appearance the day before he died, he can be seen joking and looking healthy.
Meanwhile, across Russia, flowers, candles and photos of Navalny have been laid at local monuments in memory of victims of Stalin-era repression.
Russian media have reported that authorities in some regions have been periodically clearing makeshift commemorations and police have been detaining people, apparently at random.
OVD-Info, an independent rights group that tracks arrests at protests, said that as of Monday, 389 people had been arrested in nearly 40 cities across the country for trying to commemorate Navalny.
The Russian government has intensified its crackdown on dissent since the Ukraine war, so even laying flowers at a monument
can be perceived as a crime
by law enforcement and lead to arrests or even prison terms.
Russian propaganda, for its part, has been insisting that Navalny's death was in the interests of the West and some government hawks have even suggested, without providing evidence, that the West could be behind his death.
Putin, who is up for re-election next month, has not yet commented on Navalny's death.
Asked about the president's reaction to the news, spokesman Peskov indicated on Monday that he had nothing to add.