As of: February 22, 2024, 1:15 p.m
By: Nail Akkoyun
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In an appeal, Russian Orthodox believers are calling for Navalny's body to be returned.
They remind Putin of his Christian duties.
Moscow – Hundreds of Russian Orthodox clergy and laypeople have called on Vladimir Putin to release the body of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp.
“We call on you to hand over the body of Alexei Navalny to his family so that his mother, other family members and like-minded people can say goodbye to him and give him a Christian burial,” said the letter, which was sent on Thursday (21). February) was also spread by the opposition team.
The Russian Orthodox believers reminded Putin, who often appears in churches with a candle in his hand, that there are Christian rules;
the relatives would have a right to the funeral.
According to Orthodox custom, believers should be buried on the third day after their death.
“This is not only their wish and their right, but also their duty towards God and the deceased,” said the appeal, which contains around 800 names.
“Alexei Navalny was not only an opposition politician, he was also a believer.”
The tragedy of death should not be exacerbated by refusing a simple human request: “Remember that everyone is equal before God.” There is a danger that disgrace and inhumanity will further increase tensions in society.
“Show mercy and compassion for his mother, his wife, his children and his loved ones.”
People gather at a makeshift memorial for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the Monument to the Victims of Political Repression in Saint Petersburg.
© Oleg Maltseva/AFP
Navalny's mother has already turned to Putin: "Finally let me see my son"
The Russian power apparatus is currently keeping the body of Navalny, who was declared dead last Friday (February 16), under lock and key.
The 47-year-old's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, had previously addressed the Russian President via video to demand that he be allowed to bury her son.
In front of the barbed wire of the Siberian prison camp, the mother of the dead Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny made an emotional speech calling on President Putin to hand over her son's body.
“I turn to you, Vladimir Putin.
The decision of the question depends only on you.
“Let me finally see my son,” Navalnaya said.
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According to authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in the penal camp with the unofficial name “Arctic Wolf” in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal.
The politician, weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed during a tour of the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him.
The cause of death is unclear, Navalny's team accuses the Kremlin of murder - international politicians also assumed that Moscow was carrying out a cover-up or even a targeted killing.
Moscow rejects the allegations.
(nak/dpa)