Russia puts lawyers of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny on trial

Three lawyers, who previously represented late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, went on trial in Russia on Thursday, marking a continuation of the Kremlin’s severe crackdown on dissent.

Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser were arrested in October 2023 on charges of involvement with extremist groups, related to Navalny’s networks, which authorities have labelled as “extremist.”

The trial is perceived as a strategy to increase pressure on the opposition and deter defense lawyers from taking on political cases. At the time of their arrest, Navalny was already serving a 19-year prison term on multiple criminal convictions, including extremism, following a 2021 ruling that classified his organizations — the Foundation for Fighting Corruption and its regional offices — as extremist. This ruling exposed anyone associated with these organisations to prosecution, which critics deemed “politically motivated” and aimed at “suppressing” Navalny’s activities.

Authorities accused the lawyers of using their positions to pass information between Navalny and his team. Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in 2021 upon returning from Germany, where he had been recovering from a nerve agent poisoning, which he attributed to the Kremlin. Initially sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, his term was later extended to 19 years following two additional trials. Navalny and his supporters claimed that the charges were politically motivated and aimed at imprisoning him for life.

In December 2023, Navalny was transferred from a penal colony in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow, to a facility above the Arctic Circle, where he died in February under unclear circumstances. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and his team alleged he was murdered on Kremlin’s orders, a claim that has been denied by the officials.

The trial of Kobzev, Liptser, and Sergunin, who face up to six years in prison, is being held in Petushki, a town in the Vladimir region about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Moscow. The court rejected a request to move the trial to Moscow and has kept the proceedings closed to the public, despite objections from defense attorneys.

Two other lawyers who represented Navalny, Olga Mikhailova and Alexander Fedulov, are wanted but no longer reside in Russia. Mikhailova, who had defended Navalny for a decade, faces charges in absentia for extremism.

Human rights advocates from Memorial, Russia’s prominent rights group and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, have deemed Kobzev, Liptser, and Sergunin political prisoners and are calling for their immediate release. For many political prisoners in Russia, regular visits from lawyers — especially in remote areas — are crucial for maintaining contact with loved ones and challenging abuses by prison officials.

(With inputs from Associated Press)

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