The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
February 23, 2024

Alexei Navalny's Mother Sees Son's Body, Says She Is Being Blackmailed into Having Private Burial
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mother of deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says she
was finally able to see her son's body. Russian authorities, who ruled
Navalny died of natural causes, had prevented her from seeing him for
nearly a week following his death. Lyudmila Navalnaya says authorities
are now attempting to blackmail her into holding a secret burial, away
from public view. She posted this video on You Tube.

Lyudmila Navalnaya: "I am recording this video because they started
threatening me. Looking me in the eye, the investigators say that if I
don't agree to a secret funeral, they will do something with my son's
body. The investigator Voropayev openly told me, 'Time is not working
for you. Corpses decompose.' I don't want special conditions. I just
want everything to be done according to the law. I demand receiving my
son's body immediately."

Meanwhile, President Biden met with Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia
Navalnaya, and daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, a student at Stanford, in
California Thursday. The U.S. has announced more than 500 new sanctions
against Russia today. On Wednesday, Biden reportedly called Putin a
"crazy SOB" while at a San Francisco fundraiser. The Kremlin has accused
Western leaders of "hysteria" around Navalny's death.