Russian court rules lawyers for leaking Navalny's letter

A Russian court on Friday sentenced three of late opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny's lawyers to up to five-and-a-half years in prison for passing on communications from him to an ally, a decision the Kremlin remains committed to. It was a stark reminder of how far Navalny's associates are being pursued. Even after his death.

The three lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptzel, were arrested in October 2023 while Navalny was in a high-security prison in Siberia, and the Kremlin said Navalny, Navalny and the Russian government He issued a stern warning that he intended to sever ties with the company. outside world.

The city court in Petushki, about 130 kilometers (130 kilometers) east of Moscow, said Navalny had been represented at some point in the past decade or more on charges of involvement in extremist groups, Russian news agencies reported from the court. The three lawyers who served as defendants were convicted.

Even from prison, Mr. Navalny was Russia's most popular opposition figure, valiantly challenging President Vladimir V. banned his movement nationwide as an extremist.

Mr. Kobzev was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, Mr. Lipzer was sentenced to five years in prison, and Igor Sergunin, the only one of the three to plead guilty, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

In a statement on Friday, Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya called the three lawyers political prisoners and called for their release. Lyubov Sobol, one of Mr. Navalny's long-time allies, said in X that the sentence was “instructed by the Kremlin and is aimed at revenge against those who were by Mr. Navalny's side until the end.'' Ta.

Prosecutors said at trial that lawyers “used their position” to pass on Navalny's communications to allies in Russia and abroad from the Petushki prison, where he spent time before being extradited to Siberia.

In its ruling, the court agreed with the argument that doing so enabled Navalny to “act as the leader and head of the extremist organization.”

Two of Navalny's other lawyers, Olga Mikhailova and Alexander Fedurov, were charged in absentia for fleeing the country. Their case has not yet been heard.

Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on multiple charges when he died in a high-security prison in February last year. Russian authorities attributed his death to a series of illnesses exacerbated by a cardiac arrhythmia, but this conclusion was strongly rejected by his family and allies, who blamed the Kremlin for his death.

The letters and prison diary whose lawyers helped Petushki escape from prison were included in Navalny's memoir, which was published posthumously late last year.

Navalny's lawyers argued at trial that he was charged with routine legal work, including acting as a liaison between his client and his family and associates.

“We are on trial for transmitting Navalny's ideas to others,” Kobzev, who worked with opposition leaders, told the court, according to Novaya Gazeta.

The three lawyers were caged in the courtroom and their supporters chanted “We are proud of you!” at the start of Friday's hearing. You are the best people in Russia! ” They smiled at supporters and journalists, according to footage on social media.

In an apparent attempt to weaken the show of support, police detained four journalists and a supporter who arrived in Petushki by train on Friday morning. They were released without charge after the verdict was announced, according to Russian independent media outlet Mediazona.

The lawyers' charges are in line with the Kremlin's efforts to isolate Navalny and his anti-corruption foundation, which has remained an important voice in Russian politics despite his imprisonment. Ta.

Lawyers representing the three colleagues told reporters outside the courtroom that they were not intimidated by prosecutors. “Things may be different, but being a lawyer is not scary,” Lipser's attorney Dennis Lyle told Mediazona.

Ivan Zhdanov, head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, said the ruling would set a dangerous precedent for the country's legal system, as people could be held accountable for even innocuous acts such as transmitting communications.

“Lawyers were already aware that they were being monitored during meetings with their clients,” he wrote on his Telegram channel. “Now they will know they are being watched and recorded and that this can be used to convict them in court.”