Three days have passed since the announcement of Alexei Navalny's death on Friday February 16, and no trace of his body.
The Russian authorities are still blocking all communication this Monday regarding the remains of the Russian opponent and the causes of his death.
His mother, Lyudmila Navalanaïa, presented herself this Monday morning at the morgue where her son's body is supposed to be located, according to the death notice given to her by the prison authorities.
But, on site, access was refused to him and his lawyers.
One more element which sows doubt as to the causes of the death of the Russian opponent.
Le Parisien takes stock of the questions that persist after his death.
Conflicting information on the body's location
Alexeï Navalny died on Friday at 2:17 p.m. local time (10:17 a.m. in Paris), according to the death notice issued by the Russian prison authority.
The information was made public two hours later, at midday Paris time.
The lawyer was detained in the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, Siberia.
His body was transferred to Labytnangi hospital after his death, about thirty kilometers away.
Lyudmila Navalnaïa went to Kharp on Saturday, where the authorities gave her a death notice.
Also read: How Alexeï Navalny became the Kremlin's black beast, a fight that cost him his life
On this document, it is recorded that the opponent's body is at the Salekhard morgue, 50 km away, “for investigations”.
When she went there with her lawyers, morgue employees told her that her son's remains were not on their premises.
“Usually, the bodies of people who died in prison are directly taken to the Salekhard forensic medicine office, but there he was taken to the hospital without knowing why,” said a source working within the morgue to the independent media Novaya Gazeta.
The body of Alexeï Navalny is probably located in the Salekhard morgue.
REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
“They took the body to the morgue, then stationed two police officers in front of the door.
They might as well have put up a sign saying
something mysterious is happening here
.
Of course, everyone wanted to know what was happening, why this device and if we were trying to hide something serious,” the man continued.
According to information to which this source had access, the death is “not of a criminal nature”.
This term is used in Russia to describe deaths that do not involve firearms.
This does not rule out the possibility of poisoning or physical violence.
Surveillance cameras between the hospital and the morgue exploited
In an attempt to locate the body of Alexeï Navalny, the independent Russian media Mediazona embarked on the massive exploitation of images from video surveillance cameras on the only road which connects the Labytnangi hospital, where his body was taken after his death, at the Salekhard morgue, where his body is supposed to be.
In an article published this Monday, Mediazona establishes the existence of a convoy of four vehicles at midnight on the night of February 16 to 17, i.e. in the hours following the death of Alexeï Navalny.
Among the four vehicles, a van which could easily transport a remains.
In the images, we can see the cars crossing the Ob river (frozen in the middle of winter) which separates the two cities, about twenty kilometers apart, then arriving in Salekhard, always in the same order.
“Mediazon” is connected by the camera box to the Медиазона между Лабытнананги and Салехардом.
On the other hand , the ship and the ship
are sent . дом— единственный наземный маршрут из Харпа in в областной center.
pic .twitter.com/zhUpqaG5hb
— Медиазона (@mediazzzona) February 18, 2024
This convoy, made up of vehicles from the traffic police and prison services, “could have transported Navalny’s body”, summarizes the independent media.
It starts with a police car, followed by a gray sedan (probably an unmarked car) then a prison service utility vehicle, before another police car closes the procession.
The Kremlin mentions “an ongoing investigation”
More than 72 hours after the death of Alexei Navalny was made official, none of his relatives or lawyers have been able to have access to his body.
“Alexei's mother and her lawyers arrived at the morgue early this
(Monday)
morning.
They were not allowed to enter.
One of the lawyers was literally pushed out,” said Kira Yarmysh, his spokesperson.
With the exception of the authorities who claim his death, no one has been able to have access to the remains of the Russian opponent.
Quickly after the announcement of his death, the state media RT put forward “thrombosis” as the cause of the death of the opponent of Vladimir Putin, which was widely taken up by local news agencies.
Also read Sylvie Bermann, former ambassador to Moscow: “Navalny was an obsession for Putin”
According to Novaya Gazeata, no autopsy had been carried out as of Saturday and their medical source claims that doctors at the Salekhard morgue were prohibited from carrying out one.
The investigative committee responsible for clarifying the causes of the opponent's death informed his mother this Monday morning that the investigations were "prolonged", without justifying the reason.
“The cause of death is still
undetermined
.
They lie, play for time and don’t even hide it,” criticized Kira Yarmysh.
The Kremlin, for its part, kicked in, communicating late Monday morning: the investigation is “ongoing” and has not allowed conclusions to be reached “for the moment,” said Dmitri Peskov, door -Putin’s words.
“In these circumstances, in the absence of information, we believe that it is absolutely not permissible to make such odious statements,” he reacted to Western accusations.