Hundreds of people at Navalny's funeral in Moscow; Peskov: All unauthorized demonstrations will be a violation of the law

Several hundred people gathered today near a Moscow church on the occasion of the funeral of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, with a noticeably strong police presence.

A large line formed in front of the church in the southeast of Moscow, reported the agency France Presse.

The police set up fences in the surrounding streets.

The Kremlin warned against what it called "unauthorized" demonstrations. "All unauthorized demonstrations will be a violation of the law. Those who participate in them will be held accountable, in accordance with the law," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Opposition activist Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison on February 16.

Navalny has been in prison since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning blamed on the Kremlin. After his arrest, he received three prison sentences for several lawsuits that he dismissed as political.