We demand Alexei Navalny's body be released to his family

On February 16, Alexei Navalny was killed in the 'Polar Wolf' penal colony in the settlement of Kharp.

In the official statement the Federal Penitentiary Service said that the politician suddenly felt unwell after a walk. Medical personnel who arrived at the scene conducted resuscitation efforts, but were unable to save Alexei.

The Federal Penitentiary Service did not name the official cause of the politician's death and refused to release his body to his family. Alexei's relatives and associates are convinced: this was done deliberately, with the goal of concealing the true cause of his death. His mother was subjected to enormous pressure: investigators demanded that Alexei be buried secretly, on the colony's grounds, and threatened to "do something" with his body if she refused.

We turned to you for help—and in just a few days you sent 98,322 appeals to the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) demanding that Alexei Navalny's body be released to his family. Thank you to everyone who did not remain silent and found a few minutes to send an appeal.

Nine days later, the politician's body was handed over to his family for burial. This became possible thanks to enormous public pressure—the system felt that people could not remain silent. You could not remain silent.

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