Navalny's Lawyers Sentenced for Extremism in Russia

Three lawyers who defended the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been sentenced to three-and-a-half to five-and-a-half years in a Russian penal colony, accused of belonging to an extremist group. Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser were convicted in a closed-door trial in Petushki, east of Moscow, for allegedly using their status to pass Navalny's messages from prison to his associates. This ruling is widely seen as part of President Vladimir Putin's intensified crackdown on dissent and a move to discourage defense lawyers from representing political dissidents. Human rights organizations have condemned the sentences, calling them politically motivated and a violation of legal defense rights. Navalny's networks were labeled extremist following a 2021 ruling, and his sudden death in an Arctic prison colony in February 2024 is attributed by his allies to the Kremlin, though Russian authorities claim natural causes. Amnesty International and other critics demand the immediate release of the lawyers, labeling them as political prisoners.