Lyudmila Navalnaya, mother of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has made a solemn journey to the IK-3 Polar Wolf penal colony in northern Russia, where her son is reported to have tragically passed away on Friday.
Mrs Navalnaya was seen arriving in a black car at the harsh Arctic camp, where her son had been imprisoned for only a few weeks after being transferred from a penal colony east of Moscow.
Dressed in a protective mask and sunglasses, she visited the facility upon receiving news of her son’s sudden death.
According to a document given to Navalny’s mother, he passed away at 14:17 local time on February 16. The confirmation of Navalny’s death was provided by his spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, who urged authorities to promptly hand over the body to the grieving family.
The unexpected death of Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has triggered a surge of vigils and protests throughout the country.
In response, law enforcement authorities have cracked down forcefully, leading to 15 arrests in Moscow alone.
OVD-Info, a group monitoring political repression in Russia, reported over 100 detentions in eight cities as people gathered to lay flowers in memory of Navalny.
Access to a memorial in Novosibirsk was blocked by police, resulting in several detentions, while a similar situation unfolded in the Siberian city of Surgut.
Video footage from Novosibirsk circulated on social media, showing individuals placing red flowers in the snow under the watchful eye of police, who cordoned off the memorial.
In Moscow, a large group removed flowers overnight from a memorial near the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service, with police present. However, by morning, more flowers had been placed at the site.
The circumstances surrounding Navalny’s death are still under investigation.
