Three lawyers of imprisoned opponent Alexeï Navalny were placed in pre-trial detention on Friday after searches by Russian security services in a case of “ extremism » punishable by heavy penalties.
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These police raids took place on Friday October 13 at the homes in Russia of Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser, all of whom have defended Alexei Navalny in the past. All three were arrested and remanded in custody until at least December 13 by the court in the evening.
A collaborator of Alexei Navalny who went abroad, Leonid Volkov, explained on X (formerly Twitter) that the lawyers were accused of being members of a “ extremist community », a crime punishable, according to him, by six years in prison.
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“ Everyone is already tired of using the phrase “We’ve hit rock bottom” but that’s precisely what just happened today », Reacted another supporter of the opponent who had taken refuge outside Russia, Georgi Albourov. “ It’s as if searches were taking place on doctors treating the “wrong” patient. The main goal is to deprive Alexei (Navalny) of legal support and connection with the outside world “, he denounced on X.
Messages sent to his lawyers
Arrested in January 2021 upon his return from Germany where he had been hospitalized after being the victim of poisoning, Alexeï Navalny has since been sentenced to heavy sentences, the last of which, in August, was to 19 years in prison for “extremism”. His organizations were banned in June 2021 also for “extremism” and most of their activists had to leave their country to avoid legal proceedings linked to these bans.
Imprisoned not far from Moscow, Alexei Navalny said at the end of September that he should be transferred for a year to a cell with very strict conditions, where its interactions with the outside world would be even more limited. Alexei Navalny communicates mainly via messages sent to his lawyers then disseminated via social networks, in which he has continued to denounce the offensive in Ukraine in recent months and called on the Russians to “ resist » in the Kremlin.
“ Lawyers don’t play politics, they defend the accused », Reacted on Friday on X the head of the legal department of the opponent’s team, Viatcheslav Guimadi.
(With AFP)