Putin Disrespected Navalny even in Death

 
That was last night that I was happy with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and the rest of the Biden administration for condemning Vladimir Putin for killing Alexei Navalny. Oh, I'm still very pleased with how they responded.
   But.
   But, they didn't keep swinging when they should have. It was eight days from his death before his body was turned over to his mother. Navalny's wife, Yuli, expressed concern that the body was being held back until traces of Novichok (a deadly nerve agent) disappeared. Instead of turning the body over to family -- as Russian law required -- the government insisted Navalny be buried in secret or inside the prison grounds. They gave his mother, Lyudmila, hours to comply to signing a statement saying Navalny died of natural causes. Once the document was signed, it was still another two days before the body was released.
   All the while, Navalny's family struggled to find a funeral location that would allow a public memorial, but the venues were called and threatened, so none would take up the service. The service finally was scheduled and held at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God.
   The outrage of the Biden administration should have continued through Putin's actions after the death. Navalny should have been accorded legal and more respectful treatment by Putin's people after his death. We can lament that not only the U.S., but that other Western nations did not remain adamant about allowing a proper and timely burial.
   And, we can wish the media would have kept the story front-and-center, thus pressuring Putin, the butcher of Moscow, to act humanely.
   Navalny's body was eventually covered up in burial, but not before Putin's henchmen made every effort to cover up the truth of how he died.