Your client died in the prison camp. Now several of Alexei Navalny’s lawyers have been sentenced to long prison terms.
Several Russian media reported from the court in the city of Petushki, east of Moscow, that Navalny’s well-known defender Vadim Kobsev had been sentenced to five and a half years in prison. Lawyer Alexei Lipzer received a prison sentence of five years, Igor Sergunin three and a half years. All were convicted for alleged involvement in an extremist organization, as the ‘Sotavision’ portal on Telegram reported. However, the Public Prosecution Service had called for heavier sentences.
Rally for lawyers: “You are heroes!”
The portal “Mediazona” reported a large crowd in the court, which held the controversial trial behind closed doors. “Guys, you are heroes! We are proud of you, you are the best people in Russia!” someone shouted at the lawyers, according to “Mediazona”. There was a large crowd and there were also reports in court of intimidation of trial observers.
The accusation against the lawyers was that they had made public their client’s prohibited messages while in custody. The trial began in September 2024. The lawyers were arrested in October 2023, while the trials against Navalny were still ongoing. The procedure is considered politically motivated.
Judgment passed on symbolic day
Navalny’s team in exile abroad said it was probably no coincidence that the verdict against the lawyers came on the anniversary of the return of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s opponent to Russia. Navalny returned to Russia on January 17, 2021 after being treated in Germany for a poison attack involving the Novichok chemical weapon. He died in February last year under unclear circumstances in the prison camp. His relatives accuse Putin of murder.
Source: Krone
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