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Know why Putin killed Navalny, will be revealed soon: Alexei's widow Yulia

She also said that the authorities are not handing them over the dead body of Alexei as they are waiting for the trace of 'Novichok poison to disappear'

Alexei Navalny

Alexei Navalny died in jail on February 16 (Photo: PTI)

Raghav Aggarwal New Delhi

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Iterating that she will continue the work of Alexei Navalny, his widow Yulia on Monday said that she and her allies know why "Putin killed Navalny" and the names of those who carried out the killing will soon be revealed. 

In a video shared on her new account on social media platform X, Yulia said, "I will continue Alexei Navalny's work. Continue to fight for our country together with you...against war and corruption. And I urge you to stand beside me."

Yulia said that Putin killed "half of her heart and soul" and the other half told her "she cannot give up". 
 

She also said that the authorities are not handing them over the dead body of Alexei as they are waiting for the trace of "Novichok poison to disappear".

Navalny's mother was earlier denied access to a morgue where his body was believed to be kept after he died in an Arctic penal colony, and Navalny's allies accused authorities of trying to hide evidence.

Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said that the Investigative Committee, the country's top criminal investigation agency, informed Lyudmila Navalnaya that the cause of her son's death remained unknown and that the official probe had been extended. 

"They lie, buy time for themselves and do not even hide it," Yarmysh posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. He received three prison terms since his arrest, on several charges he has rejected as politically motivated.

He died in jail on February 16.

After the last verdict that handed him a 19-year term, Navalny said he understood he was “serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime”.

His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, was in Brussels Monday and is expected to meet with European Union foreign ministers and other EU officials. On Sunday, she published a picture of the couple on Instagram in her first social media post since her husband's death, with the caption “I love you”. 

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First Published: Feb 19 2024 | 4:52 PM IST

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