Alexey Navalny’s body will not be returned to the family for at least another 14 days, said Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmish, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
His body will be under “some sort of chemical examination” in that period, she added.
Navalny’s widow has accused President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his death and promised to continue his work.
Navalny, 47, died after being imprisoned after exposing corruption in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and forming the most effective political movement against Putin.
“I am going to continue the work of Aleksei Navalny and continue to fight for our country,” Yulia Navalnaya said in a nearly 9-minute long video, per a translation by the New York Times.
“I call on you to stand beside me, to share not only in the grief and endless pain that has enveloped us and won’t let go. I ask you to share my rage — to share my rage, anger and hatred of those who have dared to kill our future.”
Navalnaya had previously declined suggestions that she should enter politics.
“In killing Alexei, Putin killed half of me, half of my heart and half of my soul,” she said in the video per the NYT. “But I have another half left and it is telling me I have no right to give up.”
In the video, Navalnaya also accused Putin of killing her husband, saying, “Putin took away the most precious thing that was my closest and most beloved person,” per CNN.
She also claimed that Russian authorities were hiding Navalny’s body until the Novichoks poison they used to kill him couldn’t be detected. Navalny was previously poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent in August 2020.
