Global tributes held for ‘hero’ Navalny as supporters denounce Russia, blame Putin for death and team accuse ‘killers’ of ‘covering tracks’

Supporters of Alexei Navalny turn out around the world, including in Russia, to pay tribute to the man widely acknowledged as the Kremlin’s main opposition figure

Navalny, a charismatic lawyer who rallied domestic opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead in his Arctic prison on Friday. He was 47

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A floral tribute to mourn Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, outside the Russian embassy in London. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 10:10am, 17 Feb 2024Updated: 11:46pm, 17 Feb 2024

Supporters of Alexei Navalny have turned out across Europe and in the United States to pay tribute to the man widely acknowledged as Russia’s main opposition figure, even when he was behind bars.

From New York and Washington to cities in western Europe to Russia and capitals of former Soviet bloc states, mourners showed their respect for the charismatic lawyer who rallied domestic opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Navalny’s team said that he had been murdered.

His death was announced on Friday by prison officials. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh confirmed on Saturday that he was dead and demanded that the Russian authorities hand his body to his family immediately.

She said Navalny was “murdered” but it was unclear where his body was.

An official note handed to Navalny’s mother Lyudmila stated that he died at 2:17pm local time Friday, she added, saying a prison employee said Navalny’s body was taken to the nearby town of Salekhard as part of a probe into his death.

Navalny’s lawyer, who arrived in Salekhard with Navalny’s mother on Saturday, called a number for the morgue and was told that “Alexei’s body is not in the morgue”, his team said on Telegram.

“It’s obvious that the killers want to cover their tracks and are therefore not handing over Alexei’s body, hiding it even from his mother,” the team said.