In Russia today, the trial began trial against three lawyers who represented the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reports the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexey Liptser were arrested in October 2023 on charges of participating in an extremist group. The case against them is seen as an attempt to increase pressure on the Kremlin's most prominent critic. The trial is taking place in a city located about 100 km east of Moscow.
According to Navalny's allies, the lawyers are accused of using their status as defenders to pass letters from the jailed politician to his team. Thus, they served as intermediaries between Navalny and his organization, which the authorities declared an "extremist group."
Navalny's organizations in Russia, including the Anti-Corruption Fund and network of regional offices, were banned and declared extremist in 2021, putting those associated with them at risk of prosecution.
Navalni has served several sentences totaling 19 years in prison, including on extremism charges, following a 2021 court ruling that declared his organizations extremist. He and his allies have dismissed all charges as politically motivated and accused the Kremlin of seeking to keep him in prison permanently.
In February 2024, Navalny died suddenly in a penal colony in Siberia. His team and his widow, Yulia, claim he was killed on the orders of the Kremlin, but Russian authorities have vehemently denied those allegations.