Aleksej Navaljnysupporters have accused the Kremlin of“ covering up the traces “ because, two days after the opposition leader’s death in custody, the uncertainty continues – it is not known where his body is and how he died.

Aleksej Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and his lawyer traveled during the weekend to the notorious prison colony „Polar Wolf“ in northern Russia, where Navalny had been imprisoned since last year, to track down his body, but received conflicting information from various institutions, according to „The Guardian“.

Lyudmila was first told that her son’s body had been taken to Salekhard, a city near the prison complex, but when she arrived at the morgue on Saturday, it was closed.

„They drive us in circles and cover up the tracks,“ said Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmish.

The wife of the Russian opposition leader, Yulia, posted the message „I love you“ on Instagram on Sunday, along with a photo of her and her husband.

Ivan Zhdanov, who heads the Alexei Navalny Foundation for the Fight against Corruption, said that the lawyer and the mother were also told that the cause of his death was „sudden death syndrome“ – an unclear term for a number of heart conditions that cause sudden cardiac arrest and death.

Novaya Gazeta Evropa, an independent news agency, quoted unidentified sources who said that Navalny’s body was taken to the morgue at the district clinical hospital in Salekhard on Sunday.

A paramedic at Salekhard’s emergency service medical center told Novaya Gazeta that colleagues treating Navalny said bruises and signs of attempted heart massage were found on his body. But a staffer at the Salekhard morgue denied those reports, telling Reuters that Navalny’s body had not arrived.

„Everything there is covered by cameras. His every step has been filmed from all angles over all these years. Every employee has a VCR,“ wrote Navalny’s closest ally and strategist Leonid Volkov on Twitter.

„Not a single video has been leaked or published in the last two days. There is no room for uncertainty here,“ he added.

Russian prison authorities reported on Friday that Navalny had felt unwell after walking and quickly lost consciousness in a prison in the city of Harp. An ambulance arrived, but he could not be resuscitated, the service said, adding that the cause of death is still „being determined.“

Meanwhile, for the third day in a row, mourners gathered in various parts of Russia on Sunday to pay their respects and lay flowers at makeshift memorials to Navalny.

„Coming here to bid him farewell is the least we can do. I feel like we let Navalny down. We have allowed this to happen,“ said Oksana, a student in Moscow who laid flowers at the Wall of Grief, a memorial to the victims of political persecution during Stalin’s period.

Western leaders said they hold the Kremlin responsible for his death.

During the weekend, the ambassadors of the United Kingdom and the USA, together with many European colleagues, also laid flowers in honor of Navalny. „Many thought that Navalny might never be released, but the fact that he is now dead is obviously a heavy blow. It is a signal for many in the country that the hope has disappeared,“ said a senior Western diplomat in Moscow.

More than 400 people were arrested in Russia during the memorial for Navalny.

Among them was Father Grigory Mihnov-Voytenko, a priest from St. Petersburg who was arrested on his way to hold a memorial service for Navalny, who was a Christian. Father Gregory was later accused of holding a rally and placed in a cell at a police station but later hospitalized with a stroke.

The wave of arrests was the biggest blow to civil society since Russians took to the streets to protest against the general mobilization in September 2022.

In the meantime, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has announced that Yulia Navalnaya will be in Brussels on Monday to meet with the foreign ministers of the 27 member states in the Council for Foreign Affairs of the EU.

News of Navalny’s death came a month before the presidential elections in Russia, which is expected to give Putin another six years in power.

The Russian opposition figure had been behind bars since returning from Germany in January 2021. Since then, he has received three prison sentences on multiple charges that he has rejected as politically motivated.