MOSCOW: As per a social media post by late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, his body has now finally been handed over to his mother. Yarmysh noted in her post that she was unsure whether the Russian authorities would allow Navalny's family to give him a funeral “the way he deserves”. 

Earlier, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, had accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of mocking Christianity by trying to force his mother to agree to a secret funeral after his death in a penal colony.