Four twenty-four hours have passed since the death of Alexei Navalny was first announced, and there is still no substantial evidence of what happened, with many analysts speaking of Moscow’s “guilty silence”.

According to Russian accounts, the 47-year-old took a short walk to the penal colony in Siberia where he was being held and reported feeling unwell, then collapsed and never regained consciousness.

On Saturday, Navalny’s family confirmed that the activist died at 14:17 local time (09:17 GMT) on Friday, February 16.

Russian authorities at the prison where he was being held said he was suffering from “sudden death syndrome”, his colleagues said. It is unclear if an autopsy has yet been performed on his body.

It is also unclear where his body is. Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, who arrived in the area on Saturday, visited the morgue in the town of Salehart near the prison, where she was told his body had been taken.

A spokeswoman for Navalny, Kira Jarmis, said Ludmila was not allowed to enter the morgue, and her son’s lawyer was kicked out of the building. Mortuary staff did not confirm whether his body was there.

According to Jarmis, the investigation by a Russian commission for the circumstances of his death has been extended indefinitely. Russian officials told her that Navalny’s body would not be released to relatives “until the investigation is completed.”

The opposition leader appeared in good spirits and in good health shortly before he died. Navalny’s mother said her son was “alive, healthy and happy” when she last saw him on February 12, in a Facebook post reported by Novaya Gazeta newspaper.

However, Navalny’s health had deteriorated in the three years of his imprisonment. He had complained of being denied medical treatment and had spent nearly 300 days in solitary confinement. By the time of his arrest in January 2021, he had spent months recovering from an attack with the nerve agent Novichok.

Navalnya accused Russian authorities on Monday that this time they managed to kill her husband with Novichok and are hiding his body waiting for the traces of the nerve agent to disappear from his body.

As he pointed out, “we know exactly why Putin killed Navalny three days ago.” “We will tell you soon. We will certainly find out who exactly carried out this crime and in what way. We will say names and show faces.”

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny’s death, explaining that the investigation into the cause of his death is ongoing and is being conducted in accordance with Russian law.