Return Navalny’s body to his family, famous Russians urge authorities

Raindrops cover a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, placed between flowers in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Russians including Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov and ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov have released videos calling on Russian authorities to return the body of opposition leader Alexei Navalny to his family, a week after his death in an Arctic penal colony.

Mr Navalny’s mother said on Thursday that she has seen her son’s body and that she is resisting heavy pressure to agree to a secret burial away from the public eye.