MOSCOW - The Kremlin said that any unsanctioned gatherings in support of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is to be buried on Friday in Moscow, will violate the law.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to give any assessment of Navalny as a political figure and said he had nothing to say to Navalny's family.

Navalny, Russia's best known opposition figure, died suddenly on Feb. 16 in an Arctic penal colony where he was serving sentences totalling more than 30 years.

A large crowd gathered on Friday near the Moscow church where he is due to be buried, and his supporters have asked people to turn out in his memory in Russian cities in the evening.

"Just a reminder that we have a law that must be followed. Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law, and those who participate in them will be held accountable - again, in line with the current law," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. REUTERS