Funeral of Putin's enemy and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to take place in Moscow on Friday

28 February 2024, 10:03

The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison, will be held on Friday in Moscow.

His funeral will be held at a church in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district on Friday afternoon, before he is laid to rest at a nearby cemetery.

Several days ago, his body was handed over to his mother after she was given a "three-hour ultimatum" by Russian officials to agree to a "secret" burial of her son if she wanted custody of his body.

If she disagreed, Russian officials were set to bury Mr Navalny, 47, at the Arctic penal colony where he died.

Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh made the announcement on X on February 24, thanking everybody who had demanded the return of his body. She said the funeral "is yet to take place".

"We don't know whether the authorities will interfere with it being carried out in the way the family wants and as Alexei deserves."

Mr Navalny died earlier this month at the Arctic circle jail where he was being held. Western leaders have accused the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin of orchestrating this killing.

Read More: Alexei Navalny’s mother ‘blackmailed’ by Kremlin with threat to 'do something' to the corpse of Putin's arch enemy

Read More: 'We will be there to the end': Shapps vows UK will back Ukraine until war is over, as Britain gives £245m military aid

Mr Navalny's widow had attacked Putin for trying to force the Russian opposition figure's mother to agree to a secret funeral.

Yulia Navalnaya said in a video that Ms Navalnaya is being "literally tortured" by authorities who had threatened to bury him in the Arctic prison.

They suggested to his mother that she does not have much time to make a decision because the body is decomposing, Ms Navalnaya said.

Mr Navalny's death prompted hundreds of Russians across the country to stream to impromptu memorials with flowers and candles.

Authorities rushed to detain scores of people and continue to suppress any major outpouring of sympathy for Putin's fiercest and most well-known opponent before a presidential election he is almost certain to win.

Russians on social media said officials do not want to return Mr Navalny's body to his family because they fear a public show of support for him.

Read More: David Cameron accuses Putin and his regime of ‘behaving like Nazis’ as war in Ukraine hits two years

Read More: King Charles hails 'heroism' of Ukrainians as world leaders mark second anniversary of Russian invasion in Kyiv

Ms Navalnaya accused the Russian president, who claims to be an Orthodox Christian, of killing Mr Navalny.

"No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with the body of Alexei," she said, asking: "What will you do with his corpse? How low will you sink to mock the man you murdered?"

Saturday marked nine days since the opposition leader's death, a day when Orthodox Christians hold a memorial service.

Residents of several Russian cities came out to mark the occasion and honour Mr Navalny's memory by leaving flowers at public monuments or holding one-person protests.

At least 27 had been detained in nine Russian cities by 12.45pm on Saturday, according to the OVD-Info rights group.