Alexei Navalny's family intensified their campaign to reach the body of the late Russian opposition leader on Tuesday — an effort that was briefly halted when his widow's account was suspended by X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
This comes just one day after Yulia Navalnaya launched the account, where she posted a video statement in which she accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband and hiding his body to cover it up.
It also announced its intention to continue its battle against the Kremlin.
Tuesday, Navalnaya account Displaying a message saying that it has been suspended and that X is suspending accounts that violate its rules. More than 90,000 people have already followed him.
The account was restored after about 20 minutes.
Company @safety The service later said: “Our platform’s defense mechanism against tampering and spam was reported in error @yulia_navalnaya As a violation of our rules. We unsuspended the account as soon as we learned of the error, and will update the defense.
Company X, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from NBC News.
Navalny's team used X to communicate in the days after his death, sharing updates on his mother and lawyer's efforts to see his body.
Hours ago, Navalnaya posted a video clip from his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, demanding that Putin release her son’s body so she could bury him. Navalny's team said they were told he would be detained for at least another 14 days while he underwent some type of “chemical examination.” She accused the Kremlin of trying to buy time.
His mother said in the message, standing outside the prison where her son died on Friday: “For the fifth day I cannot see him. They did not give me his body and did not even tell me where he was.”
“I appeal to you, Vladimir Putin. The solution to this problem depends on you alone. “Let me finally see my son,” she added.
Russia's prison service said Navalny, the Kremlin's harshest critic, died in a penal colony above the Arctic Circle after he collapsed after walking. His death sparked a wave of grief in Russia and around the world, with many Western leaders pointing the finger at Putin. The Kremlin described such accusations as “unacceptable”, while Putin himself has not yet commented.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Navalnaya's accusations against Putin of killing her husband were “absolutely unfounded accusations against the Russian head of state.” But he added: “Given that Yulia Navalnaya became a widow a few days ago, I will leave this without comment.”
On Monday, Navalnaya asked European Union foreign ministers not to recognize the presidential elections scheduled for next month in Russia, according to what Reuters reported. text About their meeting was presented by Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh.
“A president who kills his main political opponent is not legitimate by definition,” Navalnaya said, according to the text.
“Internet practitioner. Social media maven. Certified zombieaholic. Lifelong communicator.”