Foreign
Navalny Buried In Moscow Amid Thousands Of Defiant Mourners
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday, surrounded by crowds of defiant mourners who chanted his name and blamed authorities for his death in prison.
Outside the cemetery where he was buried, some supporters shouted in grief, while others yelled out slogans against the Kremlin and its offensive in Ukraine.
Despite a heavy police presence and official warnings, thousands of mourners paid their respects to the 47-year-old anti-corruption campaigner whose death in an Arctic prison was announced on February 16.
People come to a makeshift memorial for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny organized outside the former Russian Embassy in Tbilisi to honour his memory on March 1, 2024. (Photo by Vano SHLAMOV / AFP)
Navalny’s death has been widely condemned by Western leaders and his allies have accused President Vladimir Putin of responsibility and of trying to prevent a dignified public burial.
The Kremlin, which has dismissed the accusations as “hysterical”, warned against “unauthorised” protests around the funeral.
Navalny’s body first lay in an open casket in a packed church in Maryino, southern Moscow, for a ceremony attended by his parents.
The coffin was closed immediately after the service, meaning many mourners who had wanted to file past were not able to pay their last respects at the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church.
It was then transported to the Borisovo cemetery, near the banks of the Moskva River, where several large wreaths were arranged around the grave.
“We won’t forget you!”, “Forgive us!” some mourners shouted as the coffin arrived.
‘What are they afraid of?’
“No to war!” some chanted. Others yelled out: “Down with the power of murderers!” and “We will not forgive!”.
Many opponents blame Putin for the death of his top critic.
Police detained some six people in the capital and dozens elsewhere in Russia, according to the OVD-Info rights group.
“Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to TASS news agency.
“What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?” one mourner, Anna Stepanova, told AFP outside the church.
“The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn’t either.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised the thousands who turned out as “courageous”.
The French, German and US ambassadors were seen among mourners outside the church, as were some of Russia’s last free independent politicians.
Music from “Terminator 2” — Navalny’s favourite film — was played as the coffin was lowered, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.
‘Nothing to say’
The dissident’s widow Yulia Navalnaya, who did not attend, paid tribute to her husband on social media.
“I don’t know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don’t know if I’ll make it or not, but I’ll try,” she said.
“I love you forever. Rest in peace,” she wrote.
Navalnaya has also blamed Putin for her husband’s death.
Putin’s spokesman Peskov has criticised the accusations made by her and some Western leaders as “vulgar”.
As the funeral went ahead, Peskov said he had “nothing to say” to the family of the deceased.
Navalny shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin’s administration.
Some mourners mentioned the huge influence Navalny had on their own activism.
“Because of him I began to get involved in politics… He was the first public person that I listened to,” said 26-year-old Denis, a volunteer at a charity.
Navalny was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.
“Alexei was tortured for three years,” Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.
“He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters.”
“And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body,” she said.
‘Ideas will live on’
His body was held for eight days before being returned to the family, which Navalny’s team believed to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.
His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent a dignified public burial, fearing it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.
Navalny’s team said local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a “secret” funeral.
Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a place to hold a funeral ceremony and even hearse drivers.
A civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body — common in Russia — was not allowed.
Navalnaya has vowed to continue his life’s work and urged to “fight more desperately, more fiercely than before.”
In the crowd near the church, some seemed to agree.
“A person has died, but his ideas will live on thanks to those who have gathered here,” said Alyona, a 22-year-old archaeologist who came to pay her respects.
AFP
Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.
“The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire … has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region,” the ministry said in a statement.
The US Central Command said forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats it said were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had fired at US aircraft attempting to enter the country’s airspace.
AFP
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the restoration of international internet access in Iran, which had been suspended since the United States and Israel launched attacks against the country, local media reported Monday.
“The decree aimed at restoring internet access to its pre-January state was communicated to the Ministry of Communications by the president,” Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars reported.
Authorities shut down the internet during large-scale anti-government protests that peaked in early January, then suspended it again on February 28 at the start of the Middle East war.
Since then, the population has only had access to domestic platforms and websites.
AFP
US President Donald Trump says an agreement with Iran has been “largely negotiated” and details will be announced soon.
The deal would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, he said on Saturday, without giving further details.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei earlier told state television that US and Iranian positions had been converging in the last week, but warned that did not mean agreements would be reached on key issues and accused the Americans of “contradictory statements”.
On social media, Trump said he had a “very good call” with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and others about a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE”.
“An agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed,” Trump said.
“Final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”
He also said he had a call on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which “went very well”.
The president has not given any further details on the deal, but has insisted any agreement would “absolutely” prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Later, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “I congratulate President Donald Trump on his extraordinary efforts to pursue peace,” and said the phone call had been “very useful and productive”.
Pakistan has been helping to negotiate a peace deal, serving as an intermediary.
“We hope to host the next round of talks very soon,” he wrote in the statement on X.
The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, sparking conflict across the Middle East. Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf.
A ceasefire in Iran was agreed in early April, and since then Washington and Tehran have engaged in talks over a long-term peace deal.
Speaking to state television on Saturday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei also described a “memorandum of understanding”, saying Iran’s intention was to reach an agreement “in the form of a framework, consisting of 14 points”.
Baqaei said they were in the process of finalising the memorandum, so further talks could be held within 30 to 60 days “and ultimately a final agreement can be reached”.
The new sense of momentum comes after the mood appeared to have soured in Washington, with anonymous officials briefing US media on Friday that the administration was preparing for a fresh round of military strikes, although no final decision had been made.
On Friday, the president posted on Truth Social that he would not attend his son Donald Jr’s wedding this weekend so he could remain in Washington DC “during this important period of time”.
Last week, Trump had said the truce was on “massive life support” after rejecting Tehran’s demands, labelling them “totally unacceptable”.
The US has blockaded Iranian ports since 13 April.
On Saturday, US Central Command (Centcom) said it had redirected 100 vessels, disabled four, and allowed 26 humanitarian aid ships to pass since the blockade began.
Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said its forces had been “highly effective” in “allowing zero trade into and out of Iranian ports which has squeezed Iran economically”.
Meanwhile, Iran has claimed military control of an area around the Strait of Hormuz, and has said all transit through the strait “requires coordination with and authorisation from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority”.
The US and Gulf allies have repeatedly rejected Iranian attempts to assert control over the strait, and the US has told ships not to comply with Iran’s rules.
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