Navalny's wife again says 'mobster' Putin killed her husband, claims he was 'tortured'

Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Alexei Navalny, said on Wednesday (Feb 28) that she feared disruption and arrests at her husband's funeral, which is scheduled to take place on Friday in Moscow. 

While speaking about the funeral, she said "I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband." 

She again alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin killed her husband, claiming Navalny was "tortured, cut off from the outside world and denied visit and phone calls and then even letter" on Putin's order. 

Also read: Alexei Navalny's funeral to take place on March 1 in Moscow, his team confirms 

Yulia called the Russian leader a "leader of an organised criminal gang", which also includes poisoners and assassins. She said you are not dealing with a politician but with a "bloody mobster". 

"Then they killed him, and even after that they abused his body and his mother," Navalnaya told the European Parliament. Russia has previously denied the allegations, stating that a probe into the circumstances around the Russian opposition leader's death is underway. 

Watch: Can Navalny's death impact the upcoming Russian election? 

Russian authorities have also claimed that Navalny died of natural causes after he lost consciousness following a walk in his Arctic prison colony. However, his family rejects the claim. 

Navalny's funeral is finally taking place Match 1 in a Moscow church two weeks after his death. Authorities resisted handing Navalny's body to his family for eight days. But his team said was an attempt to "cover" up who was responsible for his death and prevent a public burial. 

Also read: Navalny ally urges Russians to join election day protest in Kremlin critic’s memory 

Who was Alexei Navalny? 

Navalny was a staunch critic of Putin and rose to fame through his anti-corruption campaigning. He exposed what he said was rampant corruption at the top of Putin's administration.

He was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack he suffered while campaigning against Putin in Siberia months earlier. 

(With inputs from agencies)