Moscow, 19 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Russian authorities are not going to release the body of late opposition figure Alexei Navalny for another 14 days, according to his spokeswoman.

"The investigators told the lawyers and Alexei's mother that they would not give them the body. The body will be under some sort of 'chemical examination' for another 14 days," Kira Yarmysh wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

After Russian authorities announced Navalny's death at the age of 47 last week, his mother and lawyers had travelled to the Siberian penal colony where he was being held to retrieve the body but so far the authorities have not granted them access.

According to the prison authorities, Navalny dropped dead on Friday while walking around the courtyard of his prison camp in freezing temperatures. Attempts to resuscitate him failed.

Human rights activists, on the other hand, term his death a murder. Navalny's wife holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible in particular. Several Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, also hold the Kremlin responsible.