Alexei Navalny’s funeral: Family struggles to find hearse to drive body to church

Hours before the funeral of Alexei Navalny, a staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, his team informed that they have been facing difficulties in organising the farewell ceremony.

Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said that till now no hearse has been found to drive the body to church.

“Unknown people are calling mortuaries and threatening them if they accept to take Alexei’s body,” Yarmysh said, as reported by BBC.

Navalny’s funeral will be carried out on Friday (Mar 1) in Maryino, on the outskirts of Moscow. The team on Wednesday (Feb 28) announced that the memorial service will be held at the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrows at 14:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT).

The burial will be held at the Borisovskoye Cemetery at 16:00 Moscow time. The team will also livestream the funeral service of Navalny on YouTube.

On February 16, Navalny died in a Russian prison located inside the Arctic Circle. He was kept in prison for three years over various charges.

Navalny’s team asks people to join funeral amid fears of violence

Navalny’s team has been encouraging people to attend the funeral and shared a map of the route between the locations.

The team has also shared a list of places – Seoul, Rome, Montreal and Stockholm, from where people can take part in memorial services for Navalny.

Speaking to BBC, Navalny’s former chief of staff Leonid Volkov expressed his concern regarding what might happen during the service in Moscow.