WARSAW: The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died unexpectedly in prison nine days ago, was handed to his mother on Saturday in the Arctic city of Salekhard, his spokeswoman said, though it was unclear what will happen next to the body.
Navalny’s family and supporters have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having him killed, an accusation that the Kremlin has rejected. He survived a poisoning attempt in 2020 and years of harsh treatment in prison, including long spells in solitary confinement.
Navalny’s team said on X on Thursday that his death certificate says he died of natural causes.
In a video recorded before the release of the body, Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya accused “demonic” Putin of “torturing” the corpse of a political opponent.
Navalny’s allies urged supporters “not to relax” and his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, wrote on X there was no certainty that Russian authorities would let relatives hold a funeral “the way the family wants and the way Alexei deserves.”
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies, in a statement pledging support for Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky on the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, urged Russia to fully clarify the circumstances around Navalny’s death and to free “all unjustly detained prisoners.”
“We will hold those culpable for Navalny’s death accountable, including by continuing to impose restrictive measures in response to human rights violations and abuses in Russia and taking other actions,” the G7 added.
In her six-minute video published on YouTube, Navalnaya said she would continue the fight against Putin’s regime, questioned the president’s faith, and accused him of holding her husband’s body “hostage.”
On Friday Navalny’s mother Lyudmila said Russian investigators were refusing to release his body from a morgue in Salekhard until she agreed to lay him to rest without a public funeral.
She said an official had told her that she should agree to their demands, as Navalny’s body was already decomposing.
On Saturday, Navalny aides said the authorities had threatened to bury him in the remote prison colony where he died unless his family agreed to their conditions.
Since returning to the Russian presidency in 2012, Putin has positioned himself as a defender of traditional, conservative values against what he portrays as corrosive Western liberalism.
He has also trumpeted his closeness to Russia’s Orthodox Church, regularly appearing at services around religious festivals, and speaking of his personal faith.
Navalnaya said her husband had been a devout Christian who attended church and fasted for Lent even while in prison. She said his political activism had been inspired by Christian values.
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Navalny’s ‘tortured’ body handed over to his mother
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Navalny’s ‘tortured’ body handed over to his mother
- Navalny’s family and supporters have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having him killed, an accusation that the Kremlin has rejected
- Navalny’s team said on X on Thursday that his death certificate says he died of natural causes
Canadian PM calls Iran war an extreme example of a rupturing world order
MELBOURNE: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he regretted the Iran war was an extreme example of a rupturing world order in which countries increasingly act without respect for international norms and laws.
Carney was speaking at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank, during the Australian leg of a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India. He will ddress the Australian Parliament on Thursday before flying to Japan on Friday.
“Geo-strategically, hegemons are increasingly acting without constraint or respect for international norms or laws while others bear the consequences. Now the extremes of this disruption are being played out in real time in the Middle East,” Carney said.
Carney built on themes that he laid out at the World Economic Forum in January in Davos, Switzerland, in a speech that garnered widespread attention. He argued the world order was undergoing a rupture and the old norms of the rules-based order were being erased.
Canada supported efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and from threatening international peace and security, Carney said.
“We are actively taking on the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish to be. But we also take this position with some regret because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order,” he said.
Despite decades of UN efforts, “Iran’s nuclear threat remains and now the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the UN or consulting with allies including Canada,” he added.
Whether the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran broke international law was “a judgment for others to make,” he said.
Canada and Australia aim to increase cooperation in critical minerals, AI and defense technologies.
Carney was speaking at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank, during the Australian leg of a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India. He will ddress the Australian Parliament on Thursday before flying to Japan on Friday.
“Geo-strategically, hegemons are increasingly acting without constraint or respect for international norms or laws while others bear the consequences. Now the extremes of this disruption are being played out in real time in the Middle East,” Carney said.
Carney built on themes that he laid out at the World Economic Forum in January in Davos, Switzerland, in a speech that garnered widespread attention. He argued the world order was undergoing a rupture and the old norms of the rules-based order were being erased.
Canada supported efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and from threatening international peace and security, Carney said.
“We are actively taking on the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish to be. But we also take this position with some regret because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order,” he said.
Despite decades of UN efforts, “Iran’s nuclear threat remains and now the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the UN or consulting with allies including Canada,” he added.
Whether the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran broke international law was “a judgment for others to make,” he said.
Canada and Australia aim to increase cooperation in critical minerals, AI and defense technologies.
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