Associates of the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said today that efforts to hire hearses to transport his body to his funeral in Moscow tomorrow have been blocked by unknown persons.
Kira Jarmis, Navalny’s press representative, said in a post on the social networking platform X that unknown persons threatened funeral homes that have hearses by phone, as a result of which no one accepted to transport the body.
“At first we were not allowed to rent a ceremony hall for Alexei’s farewell. Now that the funeral service should simply take place in the church, the funeral homes tell us that not a single hearse will accept to transport his body there,” Jarmis wrote in X.
Ivan Zhdanov, another close associate, said Navalny’s team would pull through and find a solution anyway.
Navalny, who died at the age of 47 on February 16 in a prison colony in the Arctic, is to be buried in the Russian capital tomorrow, Friday 03/01, after a funeral service to be held at a church in a southeastern district where his family lived. .
The Kremlin critic’s associates, who promised to live-stream the burial ceremony, criticized the authorities for not allowing a place for his body to be put on display for a pilgrimage.
The Kremlin said it had nothing to do with such plans.
Funeral with obstacles
Today Navalny’s allies called on those who want to but will not be able to attend his funeral to go to prominent places in their own cities to pay their respects in his memory on Friday night at 7pm. local time.
Judging by previous rallies of Navalny supporters – whom Russian authorities have labeled US-backed extremists – there is likely to be a heavy police presence and authorities will break up anything they deem to resemble a political demonstration under protest laws.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia, said she was not sure whether the funeral itself would be peaceful or whether the police would arrest those in attendance.
Navalny’s allies accused President Vladimir Putin of having him killed because the Russian leader reportedly could not bear the thought that Navalny could be freed in a possible prisoner exchange.
They have presented no evidence to support this charge, but have promised to describe how he was killed and by whom.
The Kremlin has denied state involvement in his death and has said it was not aware of any deal for Navalny’s release. His death certificate – according to his allies – said he died of natural causes.
Source: RES-MPE
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