
Alexei Navalny will be buried in Moscow on Friday amid tight security, two weeks after his sudden death in an Arctic prison. According to foreign media, the Russian police will register the passports of those who come to the church of the icon of the Mother of God, which is located in a quiet area of Moscow.
But his team says they are facing difficulties in organizing the farewell ceremony. His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said they had been unable to find a car to take the body to the church.
"Unknown people are calling funeral businesses and threatening them if they agree to take Alexei's body," Yarmysh said.
Burial will follow at Borisovskoye Cemetery at 4:00 p.m. The funeral service will also be streamed online on Navalny's YouTube channel.
Navalny died on February 16 in a Russian prison inside the Arctic Circle. He was imprisoned for three years on trumped-up charges. Navalny's associates say the Russian opposition leader was close to being released before his death.
His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, spent eight days trying to convince authorities to release the body after his death on February 16. Navalny's family has accused Putin of being behind his death.