Russia on Friday sentenced three lawyers who had defended Alexei Navalny to several years in prison for passing messages from the late opposition leader from prison to the outside world.
The case, which comes amid a major crackdown on dissent over the Ukraine offensive, has alarmed rights groups who fear Moscow will step up trials against legal representatives as well as to imprison their clients.
The Kremlin has sought to punish Navalny's associates even after his unexplained death in an Arctic prison colony last February.
Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin were found guilty of being part of an “opposition group” by a court in the town of Petushki.
Kobzev, the most prominent member of Navalny's legal team, got five and a half years, while Liptser got five and a half years and Sergunin three and a half years.
They were almost the only people who visited Navalny in prison while he was serving his 19-year sentence.
Navalny, Putin's main political opponent, communicated with the world by releasing messages through his lawyers, which his team then published on social media.
Sending letters and messages through lawyers is a common practice in Russian prisons.
Navalny's exiled widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said the lawyers were “political prisoners and should be released immediately”.
Navalny's team has been accused by prison authorities of secretly filming Navalny's meetings with his lawyers, which are to be secret. His team published photos of the meetings on social media to support their claim.
– 'New low point' –
The Netherlands said the pursuit of the lawyers marked a “new low in the extremely poor human rights situation” in Russia. Germany said that “even those who wanted to protect others before the law will face harsh persecution”.
British foreign minister David Lammy posted on X: “Almost a year on from Navalny's death, the Russian authorities continue to suppress any dissent…
“The UK and our partners are clear: the Kremlin must release all political prisoners.”
The men were sentenced after a closed-door trial in the town of Petushki – a town about 115 kilometers (72 miles) east of Moscow – near the Pokrov prison where Navalny was held before being transferred to a remote colony of above the Arctic. Circle.
“We are on trial for giving Navalny's comments to others,” Kobzev said in court last week, Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported.
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the court said they had “used their status as lawyers while visiting the criminal Navalny…
They said this allowed Navalny to “plan crimes of an extremist character” from his maximum security prison.
In his messages to the outside world, Navalny denounced the Kremlin's crime in Ukraine as “criminal” and told supporters “not to give up”.
Navalny was himself a lawyer and was known for his tongue-in-cheek speeches in court, attempts to indict officials and lengthy legal tirades against prosecutors .
He had denied having his lawyers arrested in October 2023 in an attempt to separate him further.
Kobzev last week compared Moscow's current crackdown on dissent to that of the Stalinist era.
“Eighty years have passed…
– 'Dangerous Precedent' –
The rights group OVD, which monitors political repression in Russia, said on Friday the sentences showed Moscow now intended to protect political prisoners – a practice that is still allowed but is getting harder – downright dangerous.
“The authorities now largely prohibit the protection of people who are under political persecution,” the group said.
“Pressure on defense lawyers risks destroying what remains of the rule of law — whether the Russian authorities still try to maintain it.
The International Lawyers Association UIA has also warned that the trial raises questions about the future of the profession in Russia.
The lawsuit “sets a dangerous precedent” in “distracting” lawyers from defending clients in sensitive cases, he said.
Last week, Navalnaya said that Russia had refused to remove her husband from the list of terrorists and terrorists despite his death.
She published a letter in December from Russia's financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring addressed to Navalny's mother which said the late opposition leader was still being investigated for money laundering and “terrorist financing”.
“Why does Putin need this? Of course not to stop Alexei from opening a bank account,” said Navalnaya.
“Putin is doing this to scare you.”
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