2023-10-13 14:59:00
Alexey Navalny through a screen during one of his trials. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
Before the arrest of three of the lawyers of Aleksei Navalny accused of “participation in an extremist organisation”, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
“In their continued vendetta against Aleksei Navalny, Russian authorities have just attacked one of Navalny’s last lines of defense, further eroding the rule of law in Russia. Lawyers are often the only connection to the outside world that a person imprisoned or detained as a suspect in a crime has.”
“By detaining Navalny’s lawyers, Russian authorities are violating his human rights and undermining the legal community in Russia, as well as depriving Navalny of what little protection he might have from mistreatment.”
“These arrests also send an unmistakable message to all lawyers in Russia that carrying out their professional activities can be very expensive if they represent the enemies of the Kremlin.”
“This criminal case serves to guarantee the total isolation of Aleksei Navalny, who has not been allowed to receive visits or phone calls from his family for a year. The intention is to severely punish anyone who supports him or has a relationship with him, even if it is a professional relationship. “Russian authorities must immediately stop the arbitrary prosecution of lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Aleksei Liptser and Igor Sergunin.”
Additional information
On the morning of October 13, 2023, the police and the Russian Investigative Committee searched the homes and offices of three lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser e Igor Serguninall of them legal representatives of Aleksei Navalny.
The lawyers are reportedly being investigated under article 282.1 of the Penal Code for “organization of an extremist group”, although the specific details of the accusations are unknown. Depending on your specific qualification, These charges could carry up to 10 years in prison..
Aleksei Navalny, a prominent Russian opposition figure, was detained on January 17, 2021 upon returning to Russia after receiving treatment for poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent. Navalny was jailed on politically motivated charges, and his sentence has been increased twice under two new sets of charges, all arising from the peaceful exercise of his human rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.
During his detention he has suffered torture and other ill-treatment, such as sleep deprivation, denial of adequate medical care, repeated arbitrary confinement in punishment cells and other violations. Following his latest sentence, he will be transferred to a “special regime” penal colony, where the most restrictive conditions of the Russian prison system are imposed, including solitary confinement.
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