Russian Authorities Hand Over Alexey Navalny's Body to His Mother 

The body of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been finally handed over to his mother following a week-long ordeal in which Russian authorities' actions were widely criticized. Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, revealed the news via his Telegram account, expressing gratitude to all those who had urged Russian authorities to return Navalny's body to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, along with Navalny's legal team, had been fervently pursuing the release of his body since the previous week. The ordeal took a distressing turn when Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, accused President Vladimir Putin of disrespecting Christianity by pressuring Navalny's mother into agreeing to a secret funeral for her son, who passed away in a penal colony.

According to Yulia Navalnaya, the authorities went as far as to intimidate Navalny's mother into a swift decision, citing the decomposition of the body. Navalnaya asserted that Navalny's mother was subjected to psychological torment by the authorities, who even threatened to bury Navalny in the Arctic prison.

Lyudmila Navalnaya took legal action by filing a lawsuit at a court in Salekhard, contesting the refusal of officials to release the body. A closed-door hearing has been scheduled for March 4 to address this distressing situation.

The manage to return the body to its mother

Navalny's spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, shared on social media that Lyudmila Navalnaya was presented with a medical certificate claiming that her son died of "natural causes," adding another layer of controversy to the already fraught circumstances surrounding Navalny's passing.

Navalny's unexpected death on Feb. 16 prompted an outpouring of grief across the country, with hundreds of Russians gathering at impromptu memorials with flowers and candles. However, authorities have sought to quell displays of sympathy for Navalny, detaining scores of people as a preemptive measure ahead of the upcoming presidential election, in which Putin is widely expected to secure victory.

Amid the public demonstrations, Yulia Navalnaya openly accused Putin of being complicit in Navalny's demise, asserting that "No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with the body of Alexei." She further questioned the depths to which Putin would stoop to mock the deceased and called for accountability for what she deemed as the murder of her husband.

The nine-day mark since Navalny's passing coincided with a day of memorial service in the Orthodox Christian tradition. Across Russia, people honored Navalny's memory by assembling at Orthodox churches, laying flowers at public monuments, and staging solitary protests. However, these peaceful gatherings were met with police intervention, resulting in numerous detentions across nine Russian cities, as reported by the OVD-Info rights group.

The international community has been closely monitoring the developments, with President Joe Biden meeting with Yulia Navalnaya to discuss the situation. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has categorically dismissed any insinuations of Putin's involvement in Navalny's death, labeling them as baseless and audacious accusations against the Russian head of state.

The handing over of Navalny's body to his mother marks a significant development in the ongoing saga that has captured global attention. As the legal battle continues and public sentiments remain fervent, the implications of Navalny's passing and the ensuing events are likely to reverberate in the political landscape of Russia for the foreseeable future.