Three lawyers for jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny were placed in pre-trial detention on Friday after searches by Russian security services, with his team facing stiff penalties in the “extremist” case.
The police raids took place in Russia at the homes of Vadim Kobzev, Igor Cherkunin and Alexei Lipser, all of whom have protected Mr Navalny in the past.
All three were arrested and remanded in custody till at least December 13 by the court in the evening.
Leonid Volkov, an associate of Alexei Navalny who went abroad, explained on X (formerly Twitter) that the lawyers were accused of being members of an “extremist community”, which according to him would be punishable by several years in prison.
“Everyone is already tired of using the phrase ‘we’ve reached rock bottom,’ but that’s what happened today,” replied Georgiy Alburov, another supporter of the enemy who has taken refuge outside Russia.
“Looks like there are searches on doctors treating the ‘wrong’ patient. The main objective is to deprive Alexey (Navalny) of legal support and contact with the outside world,” he denounced in X.
Arrested in January 2021 upon his return from Germany, Alexei Navalny was poisoned and hospitalized, and was later sentenced to 19 years in prison for “extremism”, most recently in August.
His organizations were banned in June 2021 for “extremism” and most of their activists had to flee their country to avoid legal action related to these bans.
Alexei Navalny, jailed not far from Moscow, said at the end of September that he would be transferred to a cell with stricter conditions for a year, where his contacts with the outside world would be even more limited.
Mr. Navalny communicates mainly through messages sent to his lawyers, then circulated via social networks, in which he continues to condemn attacks in Ukraine in recent months and calls on Russians to “oppose” the Kremlin.
“Prosecutors don’t play politics, they defend the accused,” replied Vyacheslav Guimady, head of the legal department of the opposition team on Friday X.
Published at 9:21 pm on October 13, AFP
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