Alexei Navalny's body to be held for two weeks for 'chemical analysis', family told
BBC NewsFeb 28
The Facts
A spokesperson for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny announced on Saturday that authorities have given his body to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, more than a week after his sudden death in prison, adding that information regarding the funeral will be released when available.
This comes following a days-long social media campaign for the Kremlin to release the body amid claims that officials in the northern city of Salekhard had threatened to bury Navalny on prison grounds if his family didn't assent to a secret funeral.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Thanks to the pressure exerted by thousands of people, authorities have finally handed the body of the most prominent Putin rival in decades to his loved ones — just a day before the traditional Orthodox prayers on the ninth day of death. Nevertheless, the Kremlin's continued refusal to permit an independent autopsy is a criminal attempt to get away with murder.
Establishment-critical narrative
It's no coincidence that the West has pointed fingers at the Kremlin — and Putin personally — over Navalny's tragic natural death, as its propaganda machine is now at full tilt to try to divert focus from defeats in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza. If Western countries did live up to what they preached, Julian Assange wouldn't be subject to torture for exposing the US' ruthless killings.
