Russian justice is merciless Now Navalny's lawyers are sent to prison camp
The Kremlin let its harshest critic Alexei Navalny die in custody. Now the persecution is directed against the men who have always provided him with legal support.
17.01.2025, 09:56
dpa
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- A Russian court has sentenced three lawyers of the deceased opposition figure Alexei Navalny to long prison terms for alleged extremism charges, including Vadim Kobsev (5.5 years), Alexei Lipzer (5 years) and Igor Sergunin (3.5 years).
- Vadim Kobsev will be sent to prison for five and a half years, Alexei Lipzer for five years and Igor Sergunin for three and a half years.
- The judge sentenced the lawyers for working in an extremist organization.
A Russian court has sentenced three lawyers of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who died in custody in 2024, to long prison sentences in a penal camp. Several Russian media outlets reported from the court in the city of Petushki, east of Moscow, that Navalny's well-known defense lawyer Vadim Kobsev was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
The lawyer Alexei Lipzer received a prison sentence of five years and Igor Sergunin three and a half years. All of them were sentenced for alleged collaboration in an extremist organization, as reported by the "Sotavision" portal on Telegram.
Judge Julia Shilova therefore fell short of the sentence proposed by the public prosecutor's office, which had demanded five and a half years in prison for Sergunin, for example. The "Mediazona" portal reported a large crowd in the court, which had held the controversial trial in camera. "Guys, you are heroes! We are proud of you, you are the best people in Russia!" someone shouted to the lawyers, according to "Mediazona".
"Forbidden messages by Navalny published"
Photos showed dense crowds in the corridors of the court. "Sotavision" reported that its correspondent had been temporarily detained by the police - under the pretext that he looked like a wanted thief. Other portals also reported harassment of trial observers, including lawyers who showed solidarity with the defendants.
The Kremlin opponent's lawyers are accused of belonging to an extremist organization - meaning the Fund for Combating Corruption founded by Navalny. The lawyers are alleged to have made their client's banned messages from prison public.
The trial began in September 2024. The defense lawyers were arrested in October 2023, while trials against Navalny were still ongoing. The proceedings are considered politically motivated.
Navalny's team in exile abroad announced that it was probably no coincidence that the verdict against the lawyers was handed down on the anniversary of the return of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's opponent to Russia. Navalny returned to Russia on January 17, 2021 after being treated in Germany for a poison attack involving the chemical agent Novichok. He died in prison camp in February last year under unclear circumstances. His relatives accuse Putin of murder.
