By Moscow Correspondent Ivor Bennett
Dozens of supporters of Alexei Navalny visited his grave to lay flowers and pay tribute to the late Kremlin critic on his 48th birthday.
The opposition leader died in an Arctic prison colony in February, angering Western governments.
Nearly four months later, his family says the cause of his death remains unknown.
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, accused Vladimir Putin of ordering his assassination, and last week his allies called for additional sanctions to punish the Russian president’s inner circle.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in his death. According to the death certificate, he died of natural causes.
Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, as well as his mother-in-law, Alla Abrosimova, were among those who gathered at his grave on Tuesday at the Borisovskoe cemetery in southeast Moscow.
A video posted by SOTAvision on the social media platform Telegram shows a memorial service led by Dmitry Safronov, a priest who was previously banned from ordination by the Russian Orthodox Church for leading a similar service in March, 40 days after the activist’s death. .
According to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, three policemen were on duty near the cemetery, but they did not make any arrests.
Convicted on a range of charges ranging from fraud to extremism, Navalny was serving more than 30 years in prison when he died.
His anti-corruption fund (FBK) is banned in Russia and authorities accuse him of CIA ties.
What is left of his team now operates in exile.
