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Alexei Navalny's body is handed over to his mother a few days after his death in prison

Alexei Navalny's body is handed over to his mother a few days after his

The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.

" Alexei's body was given to his mother. Thank you very much to everyone who asked for this with me ," she wrote on X.

Details of his funeral arrangements have not yet been determined, the spokeswoman said, and it is unclear whether authorities will intervene, foreign media reported. 

"We will provide information as it becomes available, " she said.

Earlier on Saturday, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, accused President Vladimir Putin of mocking Christianity by trying to force his mother to agree to a secret funeral after his death.

Navalny said in a video released Saturday that Navalny's mother, who wants her son's body returned, is being "tortured" by authorities who had threatened to bury Navalny in the Arctic prison. They suggested to his mother that she doesn't have much time to make a decision because the body is decomposing, Navalnaya said.

Navalny, 47, Russia's most popular opposition politician, died suddenly on February 16 in prison, prompting hundreds of Russians across the country to pour into makeshift memorials with flowers and candles.

Authorities have arrested a number of people as they try to protest ahead of the presidential election that he is almost certain to win.  

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