Alexei Navalny’s mother files lawsuit with a Russian court demanding release of her son’s body

By The Associated Press

The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has filed a lawsuit at a court in the Arctic city of Salekhard contesting officials’ refusal to release her son’s body. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported that a closed-door hearing has been scheduled for March 4. Lyudmila Navalnaya has been trying to retrieve her son’s body since Saturday, following his death in an penal colony in Russia’s far north a day earlier. Navalny’s widow, Yulia, released a video Monday accusing the Kremlin of killing her husband and alleged the refusal to release his body was part of a cover-up. Russian authorities say the cause of Navalny’s death is still unknown and refused to release his body for the next two weeks as the preliminary inquest continues,