Navalny widow accuses Putin of mocking Christianity for refusing to return body

Yulia Navalnaya (Yves Herman, Pool Photo via AP, File)

The widow of Alexei Navalny has accused Vladimir Putin of mocking Christianity by trying to force the Russian opposition leader’s mother to agree to a secret funeral after his death in a penal colony.

Yulia Navalnaya said in a video released on Saturday that Mr Navalny’s mother, who wants her son’s body returned to her, is being “literally tortured” by authorities who had threatened to bury him in the Arctic prison.