Alexei Navalny was allegedly cold tortured at the Polar Wolf prison colony before his death, a humanitarian group calling for an independent examination of the Putin critic’s body has claimed.
The Russian organization gulagu.net, which highlights prison abuses, is pleading with Navalny’s family to ensure that samples of Navalny’s body are independently examined abroad.
It is far from clear that Russian authorities will allow an independent investigation after claiming that Navalny, who was serving a 19-year prison sentence in the Arctic colony, died from “sudden death syndrome.”
Navalny’s wife Yulia, 47, has claimed that her husband was murdered on the orders of Vladimir Putin, and previously accused the dictator of satanism for failing to hand over the body to his family, which only occurred a week after his death. .
But yesterday, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence service, suggested his death could be due to natural causes, claiming Navalny died from “a blood clot.”
Alexei Navalny was serving a 19-year prison sentence in the Polar Wolf penal colony (pictured above: last video court appearance)
It is far from clear that Russian authorities led by President Putin (pictured) will allow an independent investigation after claiming that Navalny, who was serving a 19-year prison sentence in the Arctic colony, died from “sudden death syndrome.” “.
Navalny’s wife Yulia (right), 47, has claimed that her husband was murdered on the orders of Vladimir Putin, and previously accused the dictator of satanism for failing to hand over the body to his family, which only happened a week later. of his death.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s mother, and lawyer Vasily Dubkov arrive in the city of Salekhard on February 17 before being told they could not see the body.
Gulagu.net said: ‘Today his body is the main evidence of Putin’s crime against Alexei himself and against democracy in Russia.
‘Navalny’s body is the main evidence of his murder and of the subsequent manipulations with him to hide this terrible crime committed to please the dictator Putin…
“If he were alive, we are sure that in a similar case he himself would say that the most important thing today is the examination, the investigation by the best experts in the world and the presentation of exhaustive evidence, and only after that, the funeral.
‘We appeal to the family of Alexei Navalny taking into account our twelve and a half years of experience in independent investigations of torture and murder in the 21st century Gulag.
“We ask you to postpone the funeral and do everything possible to conduct a thorough examination outside the Russian Federation and we are ready to provide assistance and assistance in this… Please make the right decision.”
Ukraine’s top spy chief Kyrylo Budanov claimed Navalny may have “died from a blood clot”
Navalny, right, hugs his wife Yulia, as he was released by a court in Kirov, Russia, on July 19, 2013, after being freed after being found guilty of embezzlement.
Alexei Navalny posted a photo with his wife Yulia in September 2020 while recovering in Berlin’s Charité hospital, where he was treated for suspected poisoning.
Over the weekend, Russian authorities turned around to hand the body over to Navalny’s 69-year-old mother, Lyudmila.
Now she is responsible for bringing the body to Moscow.
The group called on the US and EU to support the family in “exposing this political murder” and “arrange the evacuation of the body for a full and comprehensive post-mortem examination.”
He promised to publish on Monday “a complete list” of Russian prison officials who “are involved in the murder of Alexei Navalny and the operation of the system of torture and humiliation in Russia.”
gulagu.net, which has inside knowledge of Putin’s penal system, said it had already provided details to Navalny’s family about “the binding, immobilization, blocking of arms and legs and cold torture” to which he was subjected. subdued.
Russian media today suggested that a funeral for Navalny could be held in Moscow on February 29, as Putin delivers his biggest speech of the year.
Exiled journalist Bozhena Rynska said: “The authorities will prevent a people’s funeral.”
This refers to the equivalent of nuclear physicist and human rights advocate Andrei Sakharov’s funeral in 1989, when mourners came en masse to say goodbye to him and honor his opposition to Soviet totalitarianism.
“They would block the area of ​​any cemetery where a funeral was planned and, under various pretexts, prevent the crowd from entering, so as not to create the image of a popular funeral.”
She said: “Now the presidential administration is discussing how to avoid a mass procession at Alexei Navalny’s funeral.”