Putin critic’s team says hearse drivers refused to take Navalny’s body to Moscow for funeral
Efforts to hire a hearse to transport the body of Russian rival Alexei Navalny to Moscow for his funeral have been foiled by unidentified persons, the late politician’s team said on Thursday.
Spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said the drivers were “called by unknown people and threatened not to take Alexei’s body anywhere.”
According to Yarmysh, he was told that “no hearse would agree to take the body there.”
Navalny’s team also had difficulty renting a venue for his funeral, which will take place this Friday at 2:00 p.m. local time (6 a.m. Miami time) at the Church of the Icon in Moscow’s Maryino district. The ceremony will be held at the Shrine of the Mother of God, where Navalny lived. After this he will be buried in the Borisov cemetery.
Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, where Navalny’s funeral will be held. (Credit: Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images)
Yarmysh said on Tuesday that several venues claimed they were already booked for that date or refused booking when Navalny’s name was mentioned, while one site explicitly said they were being booked for the dead opposition. Was banned from working with the leader’s team.
Navalny’s team initially planned a public farewell and funeral for this Thursday, but were informed that “there were no cemetery workers available who could dig a grave,” Ivan Zhdanov, the head of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, said on Wednesday. Said.