en.wikipedia.org
Investigation into death and aftermath
The
Investigative Committee of Russia announced "a set of investigative and operative measures" into Navalny's death.
[32] The Polar Wolf penal colony claimed that it had sent Navalny's body to the morgue in
Salekhard, but it was not found there.
[33] The
Investigative Committee of Russia informed the family that the body would be given to them after the cause of death was determined through an investigation; it had previously told them the investigation was complete.
[34] The authorities legally can hold his body for up to 30 days.
[35] Yarmysh alleged that the Russian authorities were trying to cover up the truth of his death.
[36]
According to
Novaya Gazeta, the body was first taken to
Labytnangi, then to a clinical morgue in Salekhard on the evening of the 16th. His body had bruises consistent with chest compressions, indicating that it was likely attempts were made to resuscitate Navalny.
[37][38] The independent Russian news outlet
Mediazona reported that live cam footage recorded a FSIN convoy travelling from Labytnangi to Salekhard on the night of the 16th, and suggested that this convoy was carrying Navalny's body.
[39] On the morning of 19 February, Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and his lawyers attempted to access the morgue where his body is alleged to be located, and were not given access.
[40][41][42] The Investigative Committee then informed Navalny's team that his remains were sent for a "chemical examination" and would not be returned to the family for another fourteen days.
[43] Navalny's wife, Yulia, expressed her belief that authorities were withholding his body while waiting for traces of Novichok to disappear.
[44]
On 22 February, Lyudmila Navalnaya released a video message stating that investigators had allowed her to see the body of her son and that she had signed a death certificate that stated that her son had died of natural causes.
[45] By law, Navalny's body should have been turned over to his family, but according to Navalnaya, the investigators refused to do so, instead insisting that Navalny be buried in secret
[46][47] or inside the prison grounds if Navalnaya did not agree within several hours.
[48] Navalnyβs remains were finally returned to his mother on 24 February.
[49]
Potential cause
Alexander Polupan, a doctor who treated Navalny's earlier poisoning, questioned the rapid timing of medical care, noted that a detached blood clot (a possible cause of death claimed by Russian state media) cannot be verified without an autopsy,
[50] and said Navalny had no underlying conditions that would put him at risk of a
thromboembolism.
[51] His mother was told that he had died from "sudden death syndrome" (an umbrella term for different cardiac syndromes that cause cardiac arrest); his lawyer was told that the cause of death was still unclear.
[52][53]