The cleric signed a public letter calling for Mr Navalny's remains to be returned to his family, following the opposition leader's death in an Arctic penal camp in February.
A Russian priest who held a memorial service for the late opposition leader and Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny has been suspended from clerical duties for three years by the head of the country's Orthodox Church. Mr Navalny, one of Mr Putin's fiercest Russian critics, died suddenly on 16 February in the remote Arctic penal prison where he had been serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges widely seen as politically motivated.
'At the end of the period of penance, based on feedback from the place of obedience, a decision will be made on the possibility of his further priestly service,' the statement said. No reason was given for his punishment, which was signed by Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a key ally of Mr Putin. The cause of Mr Navalny's death remains unexplained although his allies have blamed the Kremlin, something the Putin regime has denied.
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