Russia jails three Navalny lawyers for 'extremism' in a crackdown of dissent

euronews (in English)

Three lawyers who represented late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were sentenced to up to 5,5 years in prison. A verdict that reflects escalating Kremlin repression.

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00:00Three former lawyers for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were jailed on Friday

00:06in what critics see as part of a harsh Kremlin crackdown on dissent.

00:10The court sentenced Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Lifster to three and a half to

00:15five and a half years for links to extremist groups.

00:19Navalny's organizations were banned in 2021 as extremists, a move widely criticized as

00:24politically motivated at the time.

00:26Prosecutors claim that the lawyers passed Navalny's messages to his team.

00:32Supporters in the courtroom called the lawyers heroes as the verdict aimed to intimidate

00:36defense lawyers from taking political cases.

00:39Two other lawyers, now abroad, face similar charges in their absence.

00:43Kremlin critics say the crackdown marks a return to Soviet-era tactics against dissent.

00:48Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and outspoken opponent of President Vladimir Putin,

00:53was arrested in 2021 upon his return from Germany, where he was recuperating from a

00:57nerve agent poisoning by Russian Secret Service operatives.

01:01He died in prison in February 2023 while serving a 19-year sentence.

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