The case against three Russian lawyers who represented dissident Alexei Navalny has sparked significant attention.
Navalny, who died in a prison colony in the Arctic earlier this year, was known for his opposition to the Russian government.
Now, the Russian prosecutor’s office is seeking prison sentences for the lawyers who defended him, according to HotNews.
Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Aleksei Liptser were arrested in October 2023, months before Navalny’s death.
The charges against them include “participation in an extremist organization,” specifically the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was founded by Navalny.
The lawyers are accused of passing letters and information between Navalny and his associates while he was serving his 29-year sentence.
The authorities claim that by doing so, the lawyers allowed Navalny to continue playing a role as the leader of the group, even from prison.
Investigators have suggested that the lawyers took advantage of their status to forward letters from Navalny’s collaborators.
This has led to accusations that they helped him stay involved in his political activities.
After their arrests, the three lawyers were held in pretrial detention and later moved to the Vladimir Detention Center, located near Moscow.
Their names were added to an official list of “terrorists and extremists.”
The case against the lawyers has been examined behind closed doors in the Petushinsky District Court in the Vladimir region since September.
Recently, it was reported that the prosecutor’s office has requested prison sentences for the three.
Kobzev is facing a sentence of five years and 11 months, Liptser is facing five years and 10 months, and Sergunin is facing five years and six months.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaia, has defended the lawyers, calling them “political prisoners.” She argued in a video posted online that they did nothing wrong.
According to her, the lawyers were simply doing their job by preparing defense strategies, discussing prison conditions, and assisting in legal matters for their client.
