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Accident – Death – Obituary News :
Days after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died mysteriously at a remote Arctic prison, the whereabouts of his body remain uncertain with his family receiving contradicting information from authorities.
Confusion Surrounding Navalny’s Body
Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, was initially told that the body would be released after a post-mortem examination by authorities. However, she and a lawyer accompanying her have been receiving conflicting information over the exact location of Navalny’s body.
This confusion has further compounded the mystery surrounding the death of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic, who apparently passed away from “sudden death syndrome” after a walk last Friday at the notorious “Polar Wolf” IK-3 penal colony.
Navalny’s mother was initially informed that his body had been transported to Salekhard, the town near the prison complex. However, upon her arrival at the morgue on Saturday, she found it closed. Navalny’s allies alleged that the Russian authorities are deliberately withholding his body to erase evidence and demanded that it must be returned immediately.
Medical Examination Details
According to independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe, Navalny’s body is currently in the morgue of Salekhard District Clinical Hospital and had not undergone an autopsy as of Saturday. An unnamed source, identified as an experienced paramedic, told the newspaper that Navalny’s head and chest were bruised when his body arrived at the hospital.
The paramedic theorized that the injuries might have appeared when authorities tried to hold Navalny down during an episode of convulsions. He suggested that Navalny may have died of cardiac arrest, based on the bruising and other observations.
Outpouring of Grief and Anger
The death of 47-year-old Kremlin critic, which came just a month before Putin is set to secure another six-year term, triggered an outpouring of grief and anger among his supporters at home and abroad. Putin has not commented on the death of his most vocal critic, and the Kremlin has not made any statements since Friday evening when it criticized Western leaders for holding Putin responsible.
Russian courts have sentenced dozens of people detained at events commemorating Navalny to short prison sentences, official court announcements showed.
With inputs from agencies
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