As of: March 1, 2024, 11:39 a.m
By: Sonja Thomaser
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The funeral for the dead opposition figure Alexei Navalny puts the Kremlin on edge.
The power apparatus allows dozens of emergency vehicles to drive up.
Moscow – Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny is putting Russian President Vladimir Putin under extreme tension even after his death.
The Russian power apparatus has set up an unprecedented threatening backdrop for the mourners at the church and cemetery ahead of Navalny's funeral planned for this Friday (March 1st).
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 message is clear: Anyone who mourns here is under general suspicion.
And puts yourself at risk of being arrested.
Kremlin throttles mobile network at Alexei Navalny's funeral
The mobile internet was also turned down.
According to reports, there was a notice hanging on the church not to film or take photographs.
Navalny's team wants to accompany the funeral in a live stream.
Several riot police officers enter the grounds of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Relieve my sorrow” in Moscow.
© dpa/AP
The funeral service at the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Relieve my sorrow” in the southeastern district of Marjino is scheduled for 2 p.m. local time (12 p.m. CET).
The funeral is scheduled two hours later at the Borisovskoye cemetery.
Pictures show armored vehicles in Moscow
Pictures are circulating on X that allegedly show armored vehicles near the church.
Igor Sushko from the Wind of Change Research Group, which advocates for Ukraine, posted a corresponding image and wrote: “Fascists of the Putin regime are ready for mass arrests today at the funeral of Alexei Navalny in Moscow.”
It is unclear whether the armored vehicles are actually connected to Navalny's funeral.
Sushko added another assumption to his tweet about the likely impending arrests: “Arrested participants will undoubtedly be sent to Ukraine as cannon fodder.”
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Kremlin arrests people who mourn Navalny
Strong security forces had recently arrested hundreds of mourners while laying flowers.
More than 400 arrests were made at commemorative events.
The courts have so far imposed more than 200 sentences in urgent proceedings against mourners taking part in spontaneous remembrance.
In St. Petersburg alone, the courts ordered arrest or fines against 199 people, and there were also several such administrative punishments in the Russian capital Moscow.
In St. Petersburg, more than 154 people were held in a detention cell, most of them for several days.
Putin's authorities want to prevent at all costs that the mourning for Navalny leads to a protest movement in Russia.
Supporters, relatives and human rights activists of Navalny accuse Putin of deliberately killing the Russian opposition leader in custody.
The Kremlin rejects this.
Circumstances of Navalny's death not clear
According to authorities, Navalny 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.
(so with dpa)