Alexei Navalny to be buried in Moscow on Friday

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison camp on February 16, is to be buried in Moscow on Friday, his spokeswoman posted on X, formerly Twitter.

There will first be a funeral service in a church in the south-eastern district of Maryino, followed by the burial at a nearby cemetery, Navalny's spokeswoman wrote.

Navalny's mother and his supporters had to fight with the Russian authorities firstly to get his body released and secondly to allow them to bury the deceased opposition leader in Moscow.

Navalny died suddenly on February 16 in the prison camp in the Siberian Arctic region, Russian authorities said. The circumstances of his death remain unclear. He was 47 years old.

Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have said they hold Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for Navalny's death.

Navalny, who was weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed while exercising in the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him.

According to Navalny's team, the death certificate mentions "natural" causes. His body was kept under lock and key for more than a week.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny's mother, has accused Russian authorities of having tried to pressure her to bury her son in secret, which she refused to do.

Navalny's team annnounced earlier this week that they were having difficulties finding a venue for the funeral service.

Coming shortly before the Russian presidential election on March 17, major events like the burial that provoke criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime are a thorn in the Kremlin's side.

In the days since Navalny's death, hundreds of people have been detained while publicly expressing their grief and laying flowers at makeshift memorial sites.