'Russian authorities threatened to bury him on prison grounds': Navalny spokeswoman

NEW DELHI: Russian authorities have told Alexei Navalny's mother that his body will be buried in the penal colony, where he died, unless she agrees within three hours to forgo a public funeral, according to a spokesperson of the late Navalny.

Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, passed away last week in the Arctic penal colony. Navalny was serving multiple sentences totaling over 30 years.

For days, his 69-year-old mother Lyudmila has been pleading with the authorities to hand over his body to be buried, so that his friends, relatives, and supporters can attend the final procession in-person.

Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh informed in a post X: "An hour ago, an investigator called Alexei's mother and gave her an ultimatum. Either she agrees within three hours to a secret funeral without a public farewell, or Alexei will be buried in the penal colony."


Navalny was imprisoned at Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets area, at the IK-3 penal colony, which is situated north of the Arctic Circle and 1,900 kilometers (1200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

On February 16, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District Federal Penitentiary Service announced his death.

Alexei's lawyer and mother were told that the cause of his death was "sudden death syndrome".

"Sudden death syndrome" is a vague term for different cardiac syndromes that cause sudden cardiac arrest and death.