As of: March 2, 2024, 6:34 a.m
By: Jens Kiffmeier
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The risk of arrest is great: there are protests against Putin at Alexei Navalny's funeral - despite the massive police presence.
Update from March 2nd, 6:22 a.m.:
The memorial service and funeral of Alexei Navalny in Moscow took place without any major incidents.
On the sidelines, there were probably some arrests of mourners who apparently came in their thousands to the Kremlin critic's memorial and funeral.
Many of them chanted slogans against Russian ruler Vladimir Putin and vented their displeasure with the Putin protest in public.
Putin protest at Navalny's memorial service and funeral: Over 100 arrests in Russia
But in other cities in Russia away from Moscow, where Alexei Navalny's memorial service and funeral took place, there were also mourning events for the Kremlin critic who died in custody.
According to civil rights activists, Putin's authorities arrested more than 100 people in Russia.
The civil rights platform OWD-Info wrote on Friday evening of 128 arrests in 19 cities.
“There may be more people arrested in any police station than in the published lists,” it also says.
In most cases, those affected were released after a short time.
Navalny's memorial service and funeral in Russia: Arrests at funeral events in Russia
Most of the arrests took place in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.
At least 31 people were taken into custody there, reports OWD-Info.
In the Ural metropolis of Yekaterinburg, police arrested another 19 people.
In Moscow there are said to be 17 people, three of whom have to spend the night at the station, it is said.
Opposition politician Alexei Navalny was buried in Moscow on Friday.
People across Russia said goodbye to him at various mourning events despite a massive police presence.
According to official information, the harshest critic of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Russia died on February 16 in a penal colony in Siberia north of the Arctic Circle.
The politician, weakened by a poison attack and numerous placements in solitary confinement, is said to have collapsed while walking around the icy prison yard.
Attempts at resuscitation were therefore unsuccessful.
The 47-year-old's cause of death is not officially known.
His wife Julia and his team speak of murder and blame it on the Russian power apparatus.
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Putin protest at Navalny's memorial service and funeral: "Russia will be free!"
First report from March 1st, 5:58 p.m. Moscow - They don't want to be silenced: Thousands of people gave vent to their anger on the sidelines of Alexei Navalny's funeral.
Despite the threat of punishment, they openly protested against President Vladimir Putin at the memorial service for the Kremlin opponent who died in the prison camp.
“Russia without Putin!”, “Putin is a murderer!”, “Russia will be free!” and “No to war!” people chanted in chorus, as the
dpa
news agency reported on Friday (March 1st).
The police, who had arrived with a large contingent, let them have their way.
However, it was initially unclear whether the demonstrators would have to expect arrests and raids in the coming days.
Relatives said goodbye to the dead Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny on Friday in Russia at an open coffin.
After a long back and forth with the authorities, the 47-year-old will be buried in a cemetery in a southern district of Moscow where he had lived for 17 years.
Only close family members were allowed to attend the funeral, but his wife Yulia Navalnaya, who lives abroad, and his two children were not there.
You risk being arrested if you enter Russia.
Funeral of Alexei Navalny: Anti-Putin protests accompany the funeral service
Navalny's support team, which is also abroad because of the threat of arrest, fought back tears as relatives kissed the body in the open coffin.
The live images from the funeral could be seen on a YouTube stream.
An orchestra played funeral music.
The song “My way” was played.
The body was then covered with a cloth before the coffin was closed and lowered into the ground.
His wife Julia then posted an emotional farewell message on Instagram.
Despite the threat of arrest, thousands said goodbye at Alexei Navalny's funeral.
© Uncredit/dpa/Montage
“We don’t forget”: Protesters accuse Putin of Navalny’s death
Despite the authorities' restrictions on Navalny's funeral, thousands of people gathered on the way to the cemetery and in front of the church to say goodbye to the Kremlin critic.
The police had already set up barriers made of metal mesh in the previous days.
Behind them, demonstrators shouted “Nawalny, Navalny, Navalny” and chanted “We do not forget.
We don’t forgive.”
Many of the calls come from Navalny, who once brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets to protest against the Kremlin while free.
Navalny's employees called on people to remain calm.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously warned against unauthorized protests.
In Russia, demonstrations against the war in Ukraine, but also against the Kremlin, face severe penalties.
Kremlin ruler Putin wants to be confirmed as president in an election in two weeks.
Supporters and relatives of Navalny as well as human rights activists accuse Putin of having the Russian opposition leader murdered in custody.
The Kremlin rejects this.
But Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and US President Joe Biden also accused Putin of involvement in Navalny's death.
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.
The circumstances of his death are mysterious and not clear.
The politician, who was weakened by a poison attack in 2020 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.
But there are always doubts about the official representation.
Is Putin cracking down on protests?
Arrests feared after Navalny's funeral
But the Kremlin immediately tried to nip protests in the bud.
In the days after Navalny's death was announced, police arrested hundreds of people in Russia who had raised their voices against Putin.
Even silent protests were not tolerated.
People who laid flowers in public places immediately found themselves in police custody.
As the
Tagesspiegel
reported, human rights organizations therefore called for particular caution.
They were advised not to carry flags, photos of Navalny, ribbons or badges that are banned in Russia, it said.
This includes the letter N in a circle – a symbol that the Russian state has classified as “extremist”.
On Friday afternoon, however, the police were initially noticeably reserved.
Although there were isolated arrests, the security forces behaved very “passively,” reported ARD correspondent Ina Ruck on
tagesschau.de
.
However, cameras were installed everywhere around the funeral service.
This alone does not rule out the possibility that the authorities will take action after the fact when international attention has waned.
(
jkf
)