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Three lawyers who represented late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were sentenced to up to 5,5 years in prison. A verdict that reflects escalating Kremlin repression.
Three lawyers who previously represented the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny received prison sentences in Russia on Friday, intensifying the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent. The lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser, were sentenced to terms ranging from 3,5 to 5,5 years by a court in Petushki, about 100 kilometres east of Moscow.The charges, tied to allegations of involvement with extremist groups, were linked to Navalny’s organisations, which Russian authorities outlawed in 2021. The ruling at the time exposed anyone associated with Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption or his network of regional offices to prosecution. As the verdicts were read, supporters in the courtroom shouted, “Guys, you are heroes! We are with you!” as they applauded.Speaking after the sentencing, Andrei Grivtsov, Kobzev’s lawyer, criticised the court’s decision. “Today, a verdict was passed which, in our opinion, is illegal, unfounded and unfair,” he said. “We do not agree with this verdict, we cannot agree. I believe that we have a very strong legal position.”The case has been viewed as an attempt to intimidate legal professionals from defending political cases. In his final court statement on January 10, Kobzev remarked, “We are being trialled for transmitting Navalny’s thoughts to other people,” as reported by Novaya Gazeta.Grivtsov acknowledged the challenges faced by lawyers under the current climate. “A lawyer has a very difficult job in general, and when you defend your colleague, it is even more difficult because you cannot help but project this situation onto yourself,” he said. “You are a lawyer, and you understand what is happening.”What happened to Navalny?Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in 2021 upon returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal nerve agent poisoning carried out by the Russian secret service.He was initially sentenced to 2,5 years in prison, later extended to 19 years following additional trials. Navalny died in February 2023 in a penal colony above the Arctic Circle under difficult medical circumstances his allies claim were orchestrated by the Kremlin.Human rights groups, including Memorial, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, have declared the three jailed lawyers as political prisoners. The groups demand their immediate release. Meanwhile, two other lawyers from Navalny’s legal team, Olga Mikhailova and Alexander Fedulov, remain on Russia’s wanted list but now reside abroad.
