The funeral for Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny will take place Friday at a Moscow church and be open to the public, although it was not clear whether authorities may try to prevent people from attending.
Navalny's associates said several locations declined to host the service for the 47-year-old Navalny, the outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who died in mid-February under suspicious circumstances in a remote Arctic penal colony.
Writing on the X media platform, Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said most possible funeral venues said they were fully booked, with some "refusing when we mention the surname 'Navalny,'" and one disclosing that "funeral agencies were forbidden to work with us."
Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, in a speech Wednesday to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, said, "The funeral will take place the day after tomorrow and I’m not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband."
VOA
