Over 400 detained across Russia at gatherings held for Alexei Navalny

Over 400 people have so far been detained in events held across 32 Russian cities after the death of Russian opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny, according to the rights group OVD-Info.

This has been the largest wave of arrests at political gatherings in Russia since September 2022, when over 1,300 people were detained during protests against a "partial mobilisation" of reservists for Putin's military operation in Ukraine.

According to the prison service, the 47-year-old former lawyer fell unconscious and succumbed to an undisclosed cause on Friday (Feb 16) while taking a walk at the remote penal facility.

As per OVD-Info, which reports on freedom of assembly in Russia, the most number of arrests occurred in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the two cities where Navalny has historically had significant support. In St. Petersburg, more than 200 people were in custody as of Saturday at 2:00 pm GMT.

However, there was no mention of such events on Russian state news agencies, which reportedly are under full Kremlin control.

Stories were also not covered about hundreds of people across Russia who have continued to defy authorities to lay flowers at impromptu Navalny memorials.

Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff during the 2018 presidential elections and one of his closest aides, wrote on X, "Alexei Navalny wanted one very simple thing: for his beloved Russia to be just a normal country."

"And for this Vladimir Putin killed him. Poisoned, imprisoned, tortured and killed him."

Russia authorities extend Navalny death probe, says team

Russian investigators told Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya and his lawyers that the investigation into his death in prison "has been extended".

"It is not known how long it will continue. The cause of death is still 'undetermined'. They're lying, playing for time and do not even hide it," Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokesperson and former press secretary, wrote on X on Monday (Feb 19).

Navalnaya travelled over the weekend to the notorious “Polar Wolf” IK-3 penal colony in Russia to track down her son's body but has still not been allowed inside the morgue where it is possibly being held.

"Alexei's mother and his lawyers arrived at the morgue early in the morning. They were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers was literally pushed out. When the staff was asked if Alexei's body was there, they did not answer," Yarmysh said on social media.

(With inputs from agencies)