Three Lawyers of Alexei Navalny, Putin's Critic Who Died in Prison, Sentenced to Imprisonment

A court in Russia sentenced three lawyers defending Alexei Navalny, a prominent anti-corruption critic who died in prison, to imprisonment for transferring writings of this critic. Supporters of Navalny shouted 'heroes' in the courtroom. The Vladimir region court, located east of Moscow, announced the sentences for these three lawyers during a closed-door session on Friday, January 28. According to the sentences, Vadim Kobzev was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, Alexei Lipsir to five years, and Igor Sergunin, the only one who accepted his charges, to three and a half years in prison. These three individuals, who have been in detention since October 2023, were accused of aiding the activities of the leader of an 'extremist group' from behind bars by transferring Navalny's writings and messages outside the prison. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, some attendees at the court session shouted slogans such as 'You are heroes' and 'We are proud of you' after the verdict was announced. Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny's widow, referred to these three lawyers as political prisoners and wrote on social media platform X that they should be released immediately. The U.S. State Department condemned the sentences issued for these three lawyers, stating that they were merely 'performing their duties to ensure that a political prisoner has the right to legal representation.' Reuters, citing human rights reports, noted that the Russian government has increased pressure and judicial persecution against lawyers representing opponents of the Ukraine war or critics of officials. Alexei Navalny, a staunch critic of Vladimir Putin and the most significant opposition figure, was imprisoned in a remote prison near the Arctic, and prison officials announced in Bahman 1402 (February 2024) that he had died.