Russian justice on Friday sentenced three former lawyers of opponent Alexeï Navalny to prison terms for “extremism”. They were accused of participating in the organization of the opponent, who died almost a year ago in detention.
A new example of the repression carried out by Moscow. Died almost a year ago, Alexeï Navalny continues to be talked about in Russia. His lawyers were sentenced to prison this Friday by the Russian authorities. The trial, which had been taking place east of Moscow since mid-September, delivered its decision on Friday.
Alexeï Liptser (5 years of detention), Igor Sergunin (3 and a half years) and Vadim Kobzev (5 and a half years) were arrested in October 2023.
Lawyer Vadim Kobzev denounced in court last month that they were “tried for having transmitted Navalny’s thoughts to other people”. Several other lawyers fled the country to escape arrest, like two other defenders of Alexeï Navalny, Olga Mikhaïlova and Alexandre Fedulov.
Tried for “extremism”
But what are they really accused of? According to the first known elements, Russian justice affirms that the three representatives of the opponent, incarcerated in Russia from January 2021 until his death in prison on February 16, 2024, transmitted information allegedly allowing him to “plan, prepare and commit extremist crimes” from his cell, according to investigators.
According to a defense lawyer, Roman Karpinski, the case was based on wiretapping of Alexeï Navalny’s meetings in detention with his lawyers, which according to him constitutes a “violation of professional secrecy” of the prison administration, which transmitted these recordings to investigators.
-According to a court press release, Igor Sergunin pleaded guilty, unlike the other two.
Calls for liberation
Alexei’s wife, Yulia Navalnaïa, called for the release of her late husband’s lawyers “immediately”. A message that she wanted to convey via “X”.
But she is not the only one to speak out against Russian justice. Berlin, via the head of human rights of the German government, Luise Amtsberg, on the Bluesky network, called for their release: “No one is safe in Russia. Today’s verdict is no surprise. Even those who are supposed to defend others before the law are subject to persecution and harsh sentences by the state. Navalny’s lawyers must be released.”
Anti-corruption and anti-Kremlin activist, Alexeï Navalny was arrested in Moscow in January 2021 upon his return from Germany, where he was hospitalized after a poisoning which he blamed on the Kremlin, which has always denied. He was then sentenced to several sentences, including 19 years in prison in August 2023 for “extremism”.
Related News :