Three Navalny lawyers sentenced to extremism in Russian prison

judgments and backgrounds

The lawyers Igor Sergunin, Alexei Liptser and Vadim Kobzev were arrested in October 2023 and included in an official list of "terrorists and extremists" the following month. In a process that took place behind closed doors in the Vladimir region east of Moscow, they received penalties of three and a half, five and five and a half years.

human rights violations and repression

Human rights activists emphasize that the persecution of lawyers represented the people who speak against the authorities and the war in Ukraine is a new low in the repression of dissenting voices under President Vladimir Putin. The legal association Pervy Otdel (first department) said: "This is a blatant violation of the fundamental principles of law. Lawyers are not partners or accomplices of their clients; they offer them defense that is guaranteed by the constitution of Russia."

The fate of Alexei Navalny

Navalny, who suddenly died in an arctic criminal colony in February last year, was convicted of extremism and other charges that he all contested. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, described the lawyers as political prisoners and emphasized that they only fulfilled their duty.

reaction of the Kremlin

The Kremlin does not comment on individual court proceedings, but the authorities Navalny and its supporters have depicted traitors supported by the west who try to destabilize Russia. Despite his detention, Navalny managed to post his lawyers on social media and often complain about his detention conditions, using the resulting court hearings as a platform in order to continue to speak against the government and the war.

allegations against the lawyers

The lawyers were accused of supporting Navalny to continue to act as the leader of the government as an extremist group, themselves from custody by passing on their messages to the outside world.

illegally dismissed conversations

The circumstances of Navalny's death

navalnaya said that the recordings were taken by the authorities but handed Navalny's team handed over after they had offered a reward for information about his death.