The Vladimir District Court banned three former lawyers of Alexey Navalny - Igor Sergunin, Alexey Liptser and Vadim Kobzev, included in the list of terrorists and extremists of the Russian Federation - from practicing law for three years.
They were sentenced to terms of 3.5 to 5.5 years in prison for participation in an extremist group. This was reported by the joint press service of the courts of general jurisdiction of the Vladimir region.
On Monday, the Vladimir Regional Court considered an appeal against the verdict of Navalny's former lawyers.
„The panel of judges of the Vladimir Regional Court agreed with the findings of the first instance court regarding the proven guilt of the convicted persons, the qualification of their actions and the type and duration of the main sentence of imprisonment imposed on them. At the same time, it specified the additional punishment, prohibiting each person from practicing law for a period of three years, and reduced the additional sentence of restriction of freedom: Kobzev to 11 months, Liptser to 10 months and Sergunin to 9 months“, the statement said.
In addition, the operative part of the verdict was supplemented with a conclusion that it was impossible for the convicted person to commit all the actions established in Art. 53, Art. 1 of the Criminal Code as restrictions, without the consent of the specialized state body that controls the serving of his sentence for restriction of freedom.
In January, the Petushinsky City Court of the Vladimir Region found Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser guilty under Art. 282.1, Art. 282.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (participation in an extremist group). Kobzev was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison, Liptser to 5 years, and Sergunin to 3.5 years, respectively. Disagreeing with the court's verdict, the parties appealed it.
„In the appeal, the state prosecutor raised the issue of increasing the punishment imposed on the perpetrators of the crime. Sergunin's defense requested that the convicted person be released from criminal liability due to his voluntary cessation of participation in the activities of the extremist group. The defense of Kobzev and Liptser demanded that the convicts be acquitted due to the lack of criminal activity,“ the press service explained.
Kobzev, Sergunin and Liptser represented Navalny in the “Yves Rocher“ case. According to investigators, “they used their status while providing legal assistance to Navalny to gain access to the penal colony where he was held, and facilitated the regular flow of information between members of the extremist group and Navalny”.
In August 2021, the Moscow City Court designated the Anti-Corruption Foundation and the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights as extremist organizations banned in the Russian Federation, as well as the public movement “Navalny's Headquarters“, both created by the late dissident.