Moscow, Mar 1 (EFE).- Thousands of people have defied warnings from the Kremlin to attend the funeral of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Friday.
Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, suddenly died two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony where he had been serving 30 years on charges widely seen as politically motivated.
His family and associates, as well as several Western nations, believe Putin ordered Navalny’s killing.
Thousands of people formed a long queue around the Orthodox church in Mariyno on the outskirts of Moscow – where Navalny lived with his family for years – hours before the start of the funeral ceremony, defying the authorities’ warnings.
The Kremlin on Friday morning said that any unsanctioned gatherings would violate the law.
“Those who participate in them will be held accountable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. There have been no reports of arrests so far.
Hundreds of people were arrested at improvised memorials to Navalny in the days following his death on Feb. 16.
The crowd outside the church, who had been standing in silence with many carrying flowers and candles, applauded when the funeral hearse carrying Navalny’s body arrived shortly before 2pm local time.
Chants of “You were not afraid, and we are not afraid,” “no to war”, “we will never forget” and “murderers” were heard as the coffin was brought inside the church.
A large number of police and security forces have been deployed at the chapel for the funeral service and at the cemetery for the burial.
Among the attendees were Western ambassadors, including those from the United States, Germany and France.
Surveillance cameras and other devices that can block internet and cell phone signals were placed on lampposts at the cemetery. EFE
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