More than 1,000 people have gathered near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow to say goodbye to Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov, an ally of the Russian dissident, said today.
Navalny’s spokesman also said his body was being handed over to his relatives by the mortuary ahead of his funeral. Kira Jarmis, his spokeswoman, had earlier warned of a possible delay in the ceremony because his body had not yet been handed over to his people.
The funeral service and burial of Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, will take place today in Moscow. Jarmis, announced earlier this week on platform X that the service will take place today at 14:00 Moscow time (13:00 Greek time) at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Mariino district where Navalny lived.
Navalny will then be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, which is across the Moskva River to the south, according to Yarmish.
His funeral comes amid tight security and fears of a police crackdown, two weeks after Navalny’s sudden death at the age of 47 in an Arctic prison colony.
Navalny’s allies – who have promised to livestream today’s events – have accused President Vladimir Putin of having him killed because the Russian leader reportedly balked at the idea of Navalny being released in a possible prisoner swap. They have presented no evidence to support this claim, but have promised to show how he was killed and by whom.
The Kremlin denies any state involvement in his death and says it is unaware of any deal to free Navalny. His death certificate – according to his allies – states that he died of natural causes.
Source: RES-MPE
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