The funeral of regime opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in the dark ‘Polar Wolf’ prison, will take place in Moscow on Friday. As announced by his followers on social networks, the funeral service is planned in a church in the prefabricated neighborhood of Marino, where the opposition activist used to live. He will then be buried at the Borisov Cemetery. In the meantime, the police are taking action because there are fears of major riots.
There are many metal fences on the spot where the regime’s opponent, who died after three years of torture, is supposed to find his final resting place. Patrol officers are on standby – as notoriously overcautious Russian President Vladimir Putin fears the situation could get out of hand. Surveillance cameras adorn every lamppost, writes ‘RusNews’.
Posters calling for the banning of audio and video recordings have already been put up in the church chosen for the funeral service, “SOTA” reports. There is even a camera on the Holy Gate. The lights around the cemetery are equipped with special antennas and can be used as communication jammers.
Navalny’s team can’t find a hearse now
Meanwhile, Navalny’s team complains that there is not a single hearse in all of Moscow that would take the politician’s body to the funeral service.
“At first they didn’t want to give us a place to say goodbye to Alexei. And now, when the funeral service was to take place, the funeral offices tell us that not a single hearse can be found to take the body there. Unknown people take turns calling everyone and threatening so that Alexei’s body is not taken anywhere,” Navalny’s team complains.
“It’s just sicker,” Navalny’s confidante Leonid Volkov does not mince words. And furthermore: “That alone is enough to make Putin, (the mayor of Moscow, note) Sobyanin and all their henchmen burn in hell.”
Authorities threaten students
As a preventive measure, Russian students are prepared to refrain from demonstrations. A portal managed by the Ministry of Education even published its own video about it. The film, which lasts about three minutes, literally shows that participating in an unauthorized demonstration can lead to ten years in prison. Students are threatened that if they protest they will be expelled from college, as one subscriber to the “7×7” edition described:
Russian authorities also refused to allow a rally planned for Saturday in memory of Navalny and opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead in central Moscow in 2015. The particularly absurd reason: this would not be possible due to the coronavirus restrictions. As is known, Moscow has been very negligent in dealing with the deadly pathogen during the pandemic.
Ambassador Almhofer represents Austria at Navalny’s funeral
Following yesterday’s unrest that Green Party foreign policy spokeswoman Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic had been denied a visa to attend Navalny’s funeral, it has now been announced that at least Ambassador Werner Almhofer will attend. Ernst-Dziedzic wants to commemorate in Vienna.
“In coordination with our EU partners, Austria will be represented at the funeral of Alexei Navalny by Ambassador Werner Almhofer. The participation of the highest representative of Austria in Russia in terms of protocol is a clear signal to the Russian regime,” the spokeswoman said. She announced that Almhofer would also lay a wreath on behalf of the republic. Austria has taken an unequivocal position on Navalny’s death, both at the level of the head of state and at the level of the federal government. The Russian side “reacted with pity,” she noted.
Commemoration in Vienna
Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch also called on the platform to support supporters of the slain opponent of the regime worldwide. For Austria, the address of the Russian embassy on Reisnerstrasse in Vienna-Landstrasse was specified as a memorial site. Amnesty Austria will also hold a vigil in memory of Putin’s greatest enemy at Human Rights Square near the Museum Quarter in Vienna on Friday at 4 p.m.
According to official information, Navalny died on February 16 at the age of just 47 in a prison camp north of the Arctic Circle. The sharp critic of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was physically weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and continued solitary confinement in the camp. His supporters and many international observers agree that there can be no “natural” cause of death, as stated on the death certificate.
Source: Krone
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