Alexei Navalny’s body released to his mother after she refused to negotiate over funeral ultimatum
The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, his spokesperson has said.
“Alexei’s body was given to his mother. Thank you very much to everyone who demanded this with us,” Kira Yarmysh wrote on X.
Details of his funeral were yet to come, she said, adding it was unclear if the Russian authorities would “interfere” or if it would be carried out as “the family wants and Alexei deserves”.
“We will provide information as it becomes available,” she said.
Mr Navalny’s mother Lyudmila Navalnaya was given an ultimatum yesterday, with officials saying the Kremlin critic would be buried in the penal colony where he died unless she agreed within three hours to lay him to rest without a public funeral.
Ms Navalnaya refused to negotiate with investigators because “they do not have the authority to decide how and where she should bury her son”, Ms Yarmysh said.
Mr Navalny was the most well known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and campaigned against official corruption. He also led major anti-Kremlin protests.
His death in the penal colony on 16 February prompted mourners across Russia to attend memorials with flowers and candles. Hundreds were arrested.
While the cause of his death remains unknown, Western leaders including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have made clear they hold Mr Putin responsible.
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From 22 February: Alexei Navalny’s mother shares update on son’s body.
Mr Navanly’s widow Yulia Navalnaya and his mother also blame the Russian regime for the death of the 47-year-old activist.
Earlier on Saturday, Yulia Navalnaya accused Mr Putin of mocking Christianity by trying to force Mr Navalny’s mother to agree to a secret funeral for her son.
“No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with the body of Alexei,” she said, adding: “What will you do with his corpse? How low will you sink to mock the man you murdered?”
The widow also said in a video released on Saturday that his mother had been “literally tortured” by officials who threatened to bury her son in the Arctic prison.
She said the authorities suggested to Mr Navalny’s mother that she didn’t have much time to make a decision because his body was decomposing.
“Give us the body of my husband,” Ms Navalnaya said. “You tortured him alive, and now you keep torturing him dead. You mock the remains of the dead.”
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia attend a Moscow court hearing in 2015
On Thursday his mother said investigators had allowed her to see her son’s body in the morgue in the Arctic city of Salekhard.
She filed a lawsuit at a court in Salekhard contesting officials’ refusal to release the body, and a closed-door hearing had been scheduled for 4 March.
On Friday, Mr Navalny’s daughter Dasha shared a photo of her with her parents as a child, and the message: “I love you, kiss you, hug you tightly, and miss you very, very much.”
It was her first direct tribute to her father since his death was confirmed a week ago.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected allegations that Mr Putin was involved in Mr Navalny’s death, calling them “absolutely unfounded, insolent accusations about the head of the Russian state”.
Saturday marks nine days since the opposition leader’s death, a day when Orthodox Christians hold a memorial service.
Residents of several Russian cities came out to mark the occasion and honour Mr Navalny’s memory by leaving flowers at public monuments or holding one-person protests.
At least 27 had been detained in nine Russian cities by 12.45pm local time on Saturday, according to the OVD-Info rights group.
Countries in South and Southeast Asia have been coping with a weeks-long heatwave which has seen record temperatures sweep parts of the region.
Pupils in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh have been told to stay at home and learn remotely due to a severe health risk.
Schools in Cambodia have also cut back on their hours.
Cambodia faces its hottest temperature in 170 years, according to meteorologists – as high as 43C (109F).
Bangkok in Thailand has reached 40C (104 F), but the heat index is said to have topped 50 C (122 F) due to the heat being trapped among the mass of buildings.
The United Nations Children’s Fund warned in April that the heat could put the lives of millions of children at risk and asked people who care for them to take extra precautions.
A spokesperson for UNICEF said around 243 million children were exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves.
A woman drinks from a public tap in India. Pic: AP
They said the increased heat was “putting them at risk of a multitude of heat-related illnesses, and even death”.
Thirty people in Thailand have died from heatstroke in the past month, according to data from the country’s health ministry.
People are being advised to avoid outdoor activities and to stay hydrated.
Several towns in Myanmar were included on lists of the hottest spots globally last month, with temperatures reaching 48.2C (118F) in at least one case.
People stock up on water in India. Pic: AP
Parts of eastern India also experienced their hottest April on record.
Kerala, on India’s west coast, this week instructed all schools and colleges to close until Monday, while influencers in Bangladesh have encouraging people to plant trees in response to the record heat.
Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, said there were three factors for heatwaves: a naturally-occurring climate phenomenon known as El Nino, an increase in global temperatures, and human-induced climate change.
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Brazil is currently experiencing another climate phenomenon – La Nina – with 39 dead and 68 missing in floods across the country.
More than 24,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to the flooding.
Scientists believe the naturally-occurring phenomenon has intensified due to the impact of climate change.
China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.
Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.
Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.
“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.
“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coastguard, told Sky News that China is a ‘bully’
The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.
The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.
The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.
Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.
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Sky witnesses China-Philippine confrontation
The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.
It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.
Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.
China’s coastguard fired water at Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Bagacay while Sky was onboard
He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.
“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.
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Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.
The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.
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“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.
Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.
Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.
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