Unknown People Thwart Attempts to Hire Hearse for Navalny’s Funeral, Says Opposition Leader’s Team
Attempts to hire a hearse to take the body of Alexey Navalny to his funeral have been thwarted by unknown individuals, according to the Russian opposition leader’s team. The team’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, claimed that drivers had been contacted by these unknown individuals and threatened not to transport Navalny’s body. Yarmysh further stated that no hearse was willing to take the body.
Navalny’s team also faced difficulties in securing a venue for his funeral, which is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. local time on Friday at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow’s Maryino district, where Navalny resided. Following the funeral, he will be buried at Borisov Cemetery.
The team encountered numerous obstacles while trying to book a venue for the funeral. Many venues claimed to be busy or refused the booking once Navalny’s name was mentioned. One venue even explicitly stated that they were forbidden from working with Navalny’s team. Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, revealed that the team had initially planned a public farewell and funeral for Thursday but were informed that there were no available cemetery workers to dig a grave.
Navalny, who died on February 16 in a Siberian penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, was Russia’s highest-profile opposition leader. He had been found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activists, and other crimes in August. Prior to this, he was already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum-security facility for fraud and other charges that he denies.
According to the Russian prison service, Navalny felt unwell and lost consciousness shortly after a walk in his Siberian penal colony. His death has sparked grief and anger both within Russia and around the world, as political dissent in the country carries significant risks.
Navalny’s return to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had received treatment after being poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent, led to his swift arrest on charges he dismissed as politically motivated. He spent the remainder of his life in prison. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for her husband’s death. During a speech at the European Parliament, she accused Putin of ordering the torture of Navalny during his time in prison.
“He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls. And then even letters. And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body,” Navalnaya stated. Navalny’s team alleges that the body was held to pressure the family into agreeing to a private funeral. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny’s death.
Navalnaya also expressed concerns about potential police crackdowns on mourners at the funeral. Over 400 people were detained at makeshift memorials for Navalny across 32 Russian cities, according to the human rights monitoring group OVD-Info.
The funeral of Alexey Navalny will undoubtedly be a significant event that reflects the impact he had as a prominent opposition leader in Russia. As the world mourns his loss, questions surrounding his death and the circumstances leading up to it continue to loom large.
