Alexei Navalny's latest death: 'Body of Putin critic seen in morgue' as family demands it be returned

Courts in St. Petersburg ordered 42 of those arrested Friday to spend one to six days in prison while nine others were fined, court officials said late Saturday.

In Moscow, at least six people were sentenced to spend 15 days in prison, according to OVD-Info. The group said that one person was also imprisoned in the southern city of Krasnodar and two others in the city of Bryansk.

News of Navalny's death came a month before Russia's presidential elections, which are widely expected to give President Vladimir Putin another six years in power.

Questions remained about the cause of death, and it was not clear when the authorities would release Navalny's body. OVD-Info said on Sunday that more than 12,000 people had submitted requests to the Russian government demanding that the politician's remains be handed over to his relatives.

The rights group OVD-Info said that half of the 400 people arrested for attending vigils for Navalny were detained in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city.

Among those arrested was Grigory Mikhnov-Voytenko, a priest of the Apostolic Orthodox Church — a religious group independent of the Russian Orthodox Church — who announced plans on social media to hold a memorial service for Navalny and was arrested Saturday morning outside his home. .

The man was accused of organizing a march and placed in a holding cell at a police station, but was later hospitalized due to a stroke, OVD-Info reported.

The wife of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony on Friday, will attend an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday.

“On Monday, I will welcome Yulia Navalnaya to the EU Foreign Affairs Council. EU ministers will send a strong message of support to Russia’s freedom fighters and honor the memory of Alexei Navalny,” Borrell said in a statement on the X website.

The wife of jailed Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza has admitted she believes “many prisoners” are at risk following the death of Alexei Navalny.

Evgenia Kara-Murza appeared BBC News this morning (February 18), as she explained that her suspicions were raised after her seemingly healthy husband collapsed in 2015.

“I was sleeping with my phone since I was afraid of another call like that,” she said. “I believe my husband’s life is in danger, as are the lives of many other political prisoners… These people are held behind bars, often suffering from serious medical conditions, without proper medical treatment.”

David Lammy has expressed fears that “dirty money” could “flow through London” amid sanctions against Russia.

Shadow Foreign Secretary L. said BBC That Labor would look to “plug the loopholes” in existing sanctions, if it wins the election – especially after the death of Alexei Navalny.

“The UK has led the sanctions, and the issue now is implementing those sanctions,” he said.

He added: “I remain concerned that the full implementation of Russia's report after interfering in our elections and the work of our select committee has not been fully implemented.”

At least 177 people are believed to have been arrested on Friday (February 16) and Saturday (February 17) in events including flower laying and protests.

Bystanders filmed on their phones as police were seen carrying people away in Moscow and St Petersburg.

The authorities warned Russians against participating in the demonstrations.

No official cause of Navalny's death was revealed, but blame has been placed on Vladimir Putin.

“Putin has tried to kill Navalny several times,” she said at the Munich Security Conference. “The reason is to silence the dream of freedom that many Russians have, which is a dream [Navalny] an actress.”

Foreign Secretary David Cameron has already pledged that the UK will intervene and hold Russia to account.

Navalny's family is now demanding the release of his body.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said a thorough investigation must be conducted into the death of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny before any charges are brought.

His comments stand in sharp contrast to Western leaders' strong and swift criticism of Russia over Navalny's death in an Arctic penal colony on Friday. US President Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his “thugs” were responsible for this.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected these accusations, describing them as unacceptable.

Speaking at a press conference after attending the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Lula said that refraining from taking a position on the death at this moment was a matter of “common sense.”

Lula said: “A citizen died in prison, and I do not know if he was sick or suffering from any problems.” “To lay a charge is an understatement. I hope the coroner will provide an explanation as to why this person died, that's all.”

Lula's comments reflect how non-Western countries have not joined the West in its efforts to aggressively isolate Russia's Putin over the invasion of Ukraine and other issues.

Lula has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and said that Russia should not have invaded Ukraine. But he says the United States has prolonged the war unnecessarily.

Alexei Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, posted a photo on Instagram of herself and her husband with the caption “I love you.”