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Despite police surveillance and harassment, thousands came to Alexei Navalny's funeral, chanting his name and shouting "Putin is a murderer"

Photo: REUTERS

Relatives, friends and supporters said goodbye to the 47-year-old at the open coffin of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in Moscow.

Thousands of people came, chanted his name, and crowded to the grave after the funeral service.

Navalny's team, which is abroad due to the constant threat of arrest, set up a live stream on YouTube.

The moderators fought back tears as Navalny's relatives kissed the body.

An orchestra played funeral music.

The body was covered with a cloth before the coffin was closed and lowered into the ground.

Among the people gathered at the cemetery were the German ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff and his French colleague as well as the Russian opposition politicians Yevgeny Roisman, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova.

(Read full details in the live blog here).

Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya and their two children were not in Moscow for the funeral - for security reasons.

The widow had accused Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin of murdering Navalny.

She faces arrest.

She has also announced that she will continue her husband's political fight against Putin.

Open protest against Putin

On the sidelines of the funeral there was also an open protest against Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

Participants chanted “Russia without Putin!”, “Putin is a murderer!”, “Russia will be free!” and “No to war!”

Given the large number of uniformed officers from the Omon special police, the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously warned against unauthorized protests.

Putin wants to be confirmed as president in two weeks.

This is not a real election and it is already a foregone conclusion that Putin will be declared the winner.

Even if there is an opponent who is loyal to the system, a real rival to Putin is unlikely to be admitted to the election.

Most of Putin's political opponents are in prison or in exile.

Navalny was also imprisoned.

Supporters and relatives as well as human rights activists accuse Putin of having the Russian opposition figure murdered in custody.

The Kremlin rejects this.

According to authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in the penal camp with the unofficial name “Arctic Wolf” in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal.

The circumstances of his death are not clear.

Navalny is said to have collapsed during a tour of the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him.

According to Navalny's team, the death certificate mentions "natural" causes.

aeh/AFP/dpa