News - Public farewell for Alexei Navalny planned for end of week

The public farewell to opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian penal colony on February 16, is planned to be held at the end of this working week; that is, before Friday, as per a statement Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh. "We are looking for a hall to say goodbye to Alexei publicly. Time: the end of this work week. If you have suitable spaces, please contact us,” Yarmysh wrote on X—former Twitter. The body of Alexei Navalny was handed over to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya on February 24, the ninth day after the politician's death. The Russian authorities had refused to hand over the body earlier, arguing that an investigation was being carried out. Relatives of Alexei Navalny said that representatives of the Investigative Committee of Russia had said that Lyudmila Navalnaya would be given her son's body if she agreed to bury him secretly and without a public farewell. Navalny's mother, however, refused to comply with these demands. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that the Kremlin did not put pressure on Alexei Navalny's mother regarding his upcoming interment. In addition, Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin has not made a decision regarding the extradition of the body because "the head of state does not regulate these matters in any way."