DThe coffin with Navalny's body arrived at the church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Relieve My Sorrow” in the southeastern Mariino district of Moscow. According to the British BBC, people gathered clapped as the body was carried into the church. People are said to have shouted “You weren’t afraid, neither are we!”
The relatives of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalnyj, who died in a prison camp two weeks ago, received the 47-year-old's body in the morgue in Moscow this morning with a delay for burial. They were there at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. CET), but at first they didn't get the body and then they were late, Navalny's team said on Friday.
Despite a large contingent of police and security forces, thousands of people gathered in Moscow hours before the funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalnyj. Thousands of people crowded the metal bars at the church to say goodbye to the opposition leader. Many carried flowers in their hands.
Ambassadors from Western nations were among those gathered. A picture shows, among others, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (Germany), Pierre Levy (France) and Lynne Tracy (USA).
Russia's power apparatus has set up an unprecedented threatening backdrop for the mourners at the church and cemetery ahead of the funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalnyj planned for this Friday. Metal grilles were set up over a wide area, dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed officers took up positions early in the morning, and uniformed officers checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by, as Russian media reported. The mobile internet was also turned down. According to reports, there was a notice hanging on the church not to film or take photographs. The newspaper “Bild” reported that armed police officers had taken up positions on the roofs around the church.
According to observers, Navalny, who was considered Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's most important opponent, is putting the power apparatus under extreme tension even after his death. The funeral service is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CET. The funeral is scheduled two hours later at the Borisovskoye cemetery.
Strong security forces had recently arrested hundreds of mourners as they laid flowers. Putin's authorities fear that supporters of Navalnyj, who died in a prison camp two weeks ago, could protest. Putin wants to be confirmed as president in an election in two weeks. Navalny's supporters, relatives and human rights activists accuse Putin of deliberately killing the Russian opposition leader in custody. The Kremlin rejects this.
“Come to accompany Alexei Navalnyj on his final journey when you are in Moscow. Everyone who cannot be there for various reasons will thank you,” said opposition figure Leonid Volkov, who himself lives in exile and was a close confidant of the Kremlin opponent. Navalny's team wants to follow the funeral live on the Internet.
According to authorities, Navalnyj died on February 16 in the penal camp with the unofficial name “Arctic Wolf” in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal at the age of 47. The circumstances of his death are not clear. The politician, weakened by the poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed during a tour of the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him. According to Navalny's team, the death certificate mentions “natural” causes.
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