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The Russian Ministry of Justice has refused a request to remove the name of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died last February in Russia’s Polar Wolf penal colony, from its list of “terrorists and extremists.” Yulia Navalnaya, the late politician's widow, published the agency’s response on Telegram.
As follows from the Justice Ministry document, the criminal case against Navalny has not been terminated — purportedly meaning the authorities have no grounds for removing him from the list.
Navalnaya disagrees. “The individual's death provides an unconditional ground for their exclusion,” she argues in her post. Her position follows from the federal law “On Combating the Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds of Crime and the Financing of Terrorism.”
Alexei Navalny died in the Polar Wolf penal colony in Kharp on Feb. 16, 2024. After pressure was put on the authorities, his body was handed over to his mother a few days later. Navalny was buried in Moscow's Borisovskoye Cemetery on Mar. 1. The official cause of death was stated to be a “combined disease,” with cardiac arrhythmia cited as the primary condition.
As The Insider later established based on documents in its possession, the authorities intentionally removed references to symptoms that did not fit their official version. Earlier drafts contained information indicating that Navalny had been poisoned.