Three Lawyers of Alexei Navalny, Prominent Opposition Figure in Russia, Arrested

According to allies of Alexei Navalny, the most prominent opposition leader in Russia, Russian inspectors arrested three of his lawyers on Friday, October 13. Reuters reported that this action is aimed at deepening Navalny's isolation and depriving him of necessary legal support. Navalny's aides stated that Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Lipser, the lawyers, were interrogated on suspicion of membership in an 'extremist group.' These arrests come as Navalny, 47, awaits transfer to a 'special regime' prison, considered the harshest level in the Russian penal system, following his conviction on new charges related to 'extremist' activities. Navalny, the most well-known domestic critic of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, was sentenced to over 11 years in prison and recently received an additional 19-year sentence. One of the arrested lawyers was scheduled to meet with Navalny on Friday to discuss his complaint about the facility where he is imprisoned. Upon learning of his lawyers' arrest, Navalny told the judge, 'Like during the era of the former Soviet Union, not only activists and political prisoners but also their lawyers are being prosecuted.' Navalny has been in prison for two years and nine months since his arrest upon returning from Germany, where he was treated after being poisoned with a nerve agent in Siberia. The Kremlin has denied attempts to kill Navalny and has refrained from commenting on this case or the behavior of prison officials towards him. Moscow, without providing any evidence, has labeled Navalny as an agent of the CIA. Despite his imprisonment, Navalny has managed to share information on social media through his lawyers and has repeatedly filed complaints about his prison conditions. He denies all charges against him, claiming they are politically motivated and aimed at silencing his criticisms of Putin. Leonid Volkov, Navalny's aide, wrote on the social media platform 'X' that the three lawyers, if convicted of being part of an extremist group, would face six years in prison 'just for being Navalny's lawyer.' Volkov stated, 'This is an act of intimidation with a clear aim to strengthen Navalny's isolation from the outside world.' He added, 'This means that after Navalny is transferred to the new prison, his lawyers will not be able to meet with him there or even learn of his whereabouts if they themselves are imprisoned, which is terrifying.'