REBEL LEADER
Navalny’s widow Yulia warns funeral ‘may not be peaceful’ before ‘abused body’ of Putin’s enemy is laid to rest tomorrow
Yulia Navalnaya branded Putin a "monster" and said he "must answer" for her late husband's death
THE grieving widow of Alexei Navalny has warned his funeral may not be a peaceful event as police could be arresting those gathered to pay their respects.
Addressing the European Parliament fierce Yulia Navalnaya also claimed her late husband's body was abused after his death in the hellhole Polar Wolf jail.
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The funeral of the brave opposition leader is set to take place in Moscow's Maryino district on Friday after several venues refused to hold the service, according to his spokesperson.
Speaking to lawmakers, Yulia branded Vladimir Putin a "monster" and voiced her concerns about her husband's funeral.
She said: "I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband."
Russians have been warned not to use the funeral to protest with Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warning of "legal and law enforcement consequences."
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The vocal Putin critic died suddenly earlier this month in prison while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges, with officials insisting he died of ";natural causes".
But there has been speculation over the cause of death with many Western leaders pointing the finger at the Russian despot.
In her fiery speech, Yulia accused Putin of killing Navalny in the Arctic prison and added: "Alexei was tortured for three years.
"He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters.
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"And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body."
She added: "Putin is the leader of an organised criminal gang. You are not dealing with a politician but a bloody monster."
The director of Navalny Anti-Corruption Foundation Ivan Zhdanov, said the funeral was initially planned for Thursday - the day of Putin's annual address to Russia's Federal Assembly - but no venue would agree to hold it then.
"The real reason is clear. The Kremlin understands that nobody will need Putin and his message on the day we say farewell to Alexei, " Zhdanov wrote on Telegram.
Navalny's spokesperson Kir Yarmysh urged his supporters to arrive "in advance" to pay their respects.
Meanwhile, Navalny's mourning mum was finally allowed to see her son's body last week - six days after his death at the IK-3 Arctic prison colony.
Grieving mum Lyudmila had demanded to see Alexei's body and claimed Russian officials were trying to blackmail her, and threatened to "do something" to the corpse.
Mystery surrounds the death of the Putin critic amid widespread speculation he was murdered.
It was alleged Navalny's body was found covered in bruises,
Last week, it was claimed that he had been killed with one punch to the heart after being forced to spend hours in freezing temperatures.
The brutal method was once a "hallmark of the KGB", according to the founder of human rights group Gulagu.net.
But earlier this week, the head of Ukraine's formidable GUR military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, claimed he died of a blood clot.
He said: "I may disappoint you, but what we know is that he really died from a blood clot.
"And this is more or less confirmed.
"This was not taken from the Internet, but, unfortunately, a natural [death]."
It comes as Navalny was poised to be freed in a prisoner swap before his death, it was claimed.
Senior Navalny aide Maria Pevchikh said Putin - acting like a “mad mafioso” - decided he could not face having his arch-foe Navalny free, even if he was living in exile.
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She said: “In early February, Putin was offered to swap the FSB killer, Vadim Krasikov, who is serving time for murder in Berlin, for two American citizens - and Alexei Navalny.
“I received confirmation that negotiations were at the final stage on the evening of February 15. On February 16, Alexei was killed."
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Life of Alexei Navalny
PUTIN'S best known opponent Alexei Navalny, 47, has died in prison.
Here is a timeline that took the leader of the opposition from the face of freedom in Russia and the Kremlin's biggest foe to a hellhole Siberian prison and onto an early grave.
June 4, 1976 — Navalny is born in a western part of the Moscow region
1997 — Graduates from Russia’s RUDN university, where he majored in law
2004 — Forms a movement against rampant over-development in Moscow
2008 — Gains notoriety for calling out corruption in state-run corporation
December 2011 — Participates in mass protests sparked by reports of widespread rigging of Russia’s election, and is arrested and jailed for 15 days for “defying a government official"
March 2012 - Further mass protests break out and Navalny accuses key Kremlin cronies of corruption
July 2012 — Russia’s Investigative Committee charges Navalny with embezzlement. He rejects the claims and says they are politically motivated
2013 — Navalny runs for mayor in Moscow
July 2013 — A court in Kirov convicts Navalny of embezzlement in the Kirovles case, sentencing him to five years in prison - he appeals and is allowed to continue campaign
September 2013 — Official results show Navalny finishes second in the mayor’s race
February 2014 — Navalny is placed under house arrest
December 2014 — Navalny and his brother, Oleg, are found guilty of fraud
February 2016 — The European Court of Human Rights rules that Russia violated Navalny’s right to a fair trial
November 2016 — Russia’s Supreme Court overturns Navalny’s sentence
December 2016 — Navalny announces he will run in Russia’s 2018 presidential election
February 2017 — The Kirov court retries Navalny and upholds his five-year suspended sentence from 2013
April 2017 - Survives an assassination attempt he blames on Kremlin
December 2017 — Russia’s Central Electoral Commission bars him from running for president
August, 2020 - Navalny falls into a coma on a flight and his team suspects he was poisoned. German authorities confirm he was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent.
Jan 2021 — After five months in Germany, Navalny is arrested upon his return to Russia
Feb 2021 — A Moscow court orders Navalny to serve 2 ½ years in prison
June 2021 — A Moscow court shuts down Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his extended political network
Feb 2022 — Russia invades Ukraine
March 2022 — Navalny is sentenced to an additional nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court
2023 — Over 400 Russian doctors sign an open letter to Putin, urging an end to what it calls abuse of Navalny, following reports that he was denied basic medication & suffering from slow poisoning
April, 2023 — Navalny from inside prison says he was facing new extremism and terrorism charges that could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life
Aug 2023 - A court in Russia extends Navalny’s prison sentence by 19 years
Dec 2023 - He disappears from his prison as his team fear he could be assassination. He then reappears weeks later in one of Siberia's toughest prisons - the 'Polar Wolf' colony
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