Around 1,000 people have gathered outside the church where the funeral ceremony of Russian regime critic Alexei Navalny is taking place.
“You were not afraid, and we are not afraid,” people chanted, as the coffin was carried into the church.
Journalists on the ground report on the riot fence around the church and scores of masked police equipped with helmets and tear gas canisters. According to media reports, several people who gathered in connection with the funeral have already been arrested.
Until the end, the authorities tried to prevent a dignified burial, according to Navalny’s associates. On Friday morning, his spokesperson Kira Jarmysh stated that the mortuary refused to give the body to the family. Just under an hour after the appointed time, they were finally allowed to take him with them.
– Our intention is a peaceful farewell and mourning, but it seems that the Russian authorities think we are going to start a rebellion, says Navalny’s employee Leonid Volkov to the BBC.
The atmosphere is so far calm, reports the media company’s Moscow correspondent on site in the district of Marjino.
– It feels like I’m burying my own son, says pensioner Anna.
The text is updated