Russian authorities have told the mother of the late opposition figure Alexey Navalny that unless she agrees to a secret funeral without a public farewell within three hours, he will be buried at the Arctic penal colony where he died. Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, disclosed this information, highlighting the ultimatum given to Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya. Despite resistance faced by Lyudmila Navalnaya since her son's death was announced a week ago, she has been determined to organize a funeral for him. She had been threatened by investigators who demanded a secret burial for Navalny, which she has refused to negotiate. Navalnaya insisted on the return of her son's body on Saturday in accordance with the law's two-day timeline for returning the deceased.

The ultimatum has triggered outrage from Navalny's team, with Maria Pevchikh, the head of investigations at Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, condemning the Russian authorities for their ongoing tactics of blackmail. The foundation announced a 20,000 euros reward for information regarding what they referred to as the "murder" of Navalny, appealing to members of the Russian military and law enforcement to come forward anonymously.

Navalny, a prominent political opponent of President Vladimir Putin, passed away at the age of 47 last Friday in a prison above the Arctic circle. His death has raised concerns ahead of Russia's presidential election scheduled for March 17, where Putin is poised for re-election. In response to Navalny's death and the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow, U.S. President Biden announced new sanctions on over 500 targets to hold Putin accountable for his actions. Click [here] for the full story.