Kremlin continues to punish associates of dissident who died in prison last year
The three lawyers who formerly represented the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny — Igor Sergunin, Alexei Liptser and Vadim Kobzev — attend the reading of the court ruling in the town of Petushki, 115km east of Moscow, on Jan 17. (Photo: AFP)
PETUSHKI, Russia – Russia on Friday sentenced three lawyers who had defended Alexei Navalny to several years in prison for bringing messages from the late opposition leader from prison to the outside world.
The case, which comes amid a massive crackdown on dissent during the Ukraine offensive, has alarmed rights groups who fear Moscow will ramp up trials against legal representatives in addition to jailing their clients.
The Kremlin has sought to punish Navalny’s associates even after his unexplained death in an Arctic prison colony last February.
Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin were found guilty of participating in an “extremist organisation” by a court in the town of Petushki.
Kobzev, the most high-profile member of Navalny’s legal team, was given five and a half years, while Liptser was handed five and Sergunin three and a half years.
They were almost the only people visiting Navalny in prison while he served his 19-year sentence.
Navalny, Putin’s main political opponent, communicated with the world by transmitting messages through his lawyers, which his team then published on social media.
Passing letters and messages through lawyers is a normal practice in Russian prisons.
Navalny’s exiled widow Yulia Navalnaya said the lawyers were “political prisoners and should be freed immediately”.
Navalny’s team has accused prison authorities of having secretly filmed Navalny’s meetings with his lawyers, which are meant to be confidential. His team published footage of the meetings on social media to sup
Read More