In a chilling escalation of its crackdown on dissent, a Russian court has sentenced three of Alexei Navalny’s former lawyers — Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser, and Igor Sergunin — to multiple years in prison for allegedly participating in an “extremist organization.” Their “crime” was transmitting messages from Navalny, the late opposition leader, from prison to the outside world — a standard and legal practice under Russian law. Rights groups and foreign governments have condemned the sentences, warning that the move targets not just political opponents, but now the very lawyers who defend them.
The closed-door trial in Petushki has drawn comparisons to Soviet-era repression, with human rights monitors calling it a dangerous precedent that could effectively outlaw the legal defense of political prisoners in Russia. Navalny’s widow and international organizations warn that such cases erode what little remains of the rule of law, instilling fear in legal professionals and further isolating political detainees. The message is clear: in Putin’s Russia, even defending the accused can make you a criminal.