2024-02-19T16:54:03+00:00
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/ The team of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny revealed on Monday that investigators had informed the opposition leader’s family and lawyers to conduct a “chemical examination” of his body before handing it over, within at least two weeks, three days after his death in prison under mysterious circumstances, while Washington is preparing to impose sanctions on Moscow over Navalny’s death.
Opposition spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh wrote on the X platform that investigators told lawyers and Alexei’s mother that they “will not hand over his body, because they will conduct what they call a ‘chemical examination’ within 14 days.”
Navalny’s relatives have been prevented from viewing his body for the third day in a row, his team said Monday, adding that his mother was “not allowed” to enter the morgue where he is believed to be.
US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he is “considering imposing additional sanctions” on Moscow after the death of the Russian opposition leader.
“There are sanctions that we are basically imposing, but we are looking at additional sanctions,” Biden told reporters in Washington.
EU ministers, during their meeting on Monday, also laid out their limited options to make the Kremlin bear the consequences of Navalny’s death.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said he expected EU member states to propose new sanctions on those directly responsible for Navalny’s treatment, including in Russia’s prison system.
Navalny’s death
The Russian opposition leader and first opponent of President Vladimir Putin died on Friday at the age of 47 in a prison in the Arctic Circle in the Yamal region, where he was serving a 19-year sentence.
He had been imprisoned since his return to Russia in early 2021, and his health had deteriorated for months.
Russia’s prison service said Alexei Navalny died on Friday after feeling unwell following a walk and losing consciousness almost immediately.
Putin has not commented on Navalny’s death, which comes a month before a presidential election that is expected to see the Russian president remain in power for a new six-year term.