Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny's body has been given to his mother more than a week after he passed away, announced Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh on Saturday. Navalny died on February 16 behind bars in a penal colony near the Arctic town of Salekhard. The Russian prison service reported that he fell unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness.

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, is still in Salekhard, where her son's body was being held. Funereal arrangements have not yet been made, with Yarmysh expressing uncertainty about whether the authorities will allow the family to carry out a funeral in the manner they desire and believe Alexey deserves.

The Kremlin has denied accusations by Navalny's family and colleagues, including his widow Yulia Navalnaya, that President Vladimir Putin ordered the withholding of Navalny's body to conceal the cause of death and prevent large crowds from gathering at the funeral. Navalny's family had been pleading for several days for the Russian authorities to release his body, with Navalnaya even making a public plea to Putin.

Navalnaya said she was threatened by investigators to either agree to a secret funeral or have her son buried in the Arctic penal colony where he died. Saturday marks nine days since Navalny's death, a significant date in the Orthodox Christian tradition when prayers are typically offered for the departed.

In a video released earlier on Saturday, Yulia Navalnaya accused Putin of defying laws, both human and divine, by refusing to hand over her late husband's remains, challenging his portrayal as a devout Orthodox Christian protecting Russian values against Western influence.