(Bloomberg) -- The body of Alexey Navalny, the Kremlin critic who died in prison last week, was turned over to his mother, the late political activist’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh said Saturday.

Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, had repeatedly demanded that her son’s body be handed over in accordance with the law. She said Thursday that Russian authorities were seeking a secret burial for the most formidable domestic opponent of President Vladimir Putin. 

“Alexey’s body was given to his mother. Thank you very much to everyone who demanded this with us,” Yarmysh said in a post on the X social media platform. “The funeral is yet to come. We don’t know whether the authorities will interfere with carrying it out the way the family wants and as Alexey deserves.”

Navalny, 47, died after falling ill at the remote, maximum-security prison camp where he’d been held on extremism charges. 

US President Joe Biden has said “Putin is responsible” for Navalny’s death in the Arctic prison, while Navalny’s widow, Yulia, said this week she’ll continue his fight against the Russian leader as she met with top European Union officials.

Read more: US Unveils Fresh Sanctions on Russia After Navalny’s Death 

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