Alexei Navalny’s family say his body is set to be held by Russian authorities for two weeks while it undergoes “chemical analysis”.
Navalny, a critic of Vladimir Putin, was found dead in a jail cell in the Arctic Cirlce last week. Authorities have not yet revealed where his body is being held.
And attempts to locate it have been shut down by Russia, reports the BBC. Navalny’s wife has accused them of hiding the body.
In a video posted on social media on Monday, Yulia Navalnaya vowed to continue her husband’s work, fighting for a “free Russia”. She also directly accused Putin of killing her husband.
Navalnaya claimed her husband’s body is being hidden away until traces of Novichok could leave his system. She called for supporters to “share the fury and hate for those who dared to kill our future”.
Authorities at the Siberian prison where Navalny died said he went for a walk on Friday where he collapsed. He never regained consciousness, they said.
His mother and lawyer travelled to the jail but were unable to trace his body.
On Monday, the Kremlin said an investigation into Navalny’s death was ongoing and that there were “no results” as of yet.
Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said that investigators had told his mother Lyudmila they would not hand over the body for a fortnight due to the need for “chemical analysis”.
The activist was seen as one of the Russian opposition’s most influential leaders in over a decade. He had been serving a 19-year prison sentence for what many believe is a politcally motivated charge.
Western leaders have criticsed his death. President Joe Biden said: “The fact of the matter is: Putin is responsible, whether he ordered it or he is responsible for the circumstances he put that man in.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said comments by Western politicians in regards to Navalny’s death were “arrogant” and “unacceptable”.
Russian prison authorities said at the weekend that Navalny had suffered “sudden death syndrome”.
