Photo: AP and AFP
The jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s three lawyers have been arrested and charged under the extremism section. – Vladimir Putin has always been afraid of Navalny, says an expert to VG.
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s three lawyers, Igor Sergunin, Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser, have been arrested and charged with extremism. All three lawyers have been detained until December 13, and this cuts off Navalny’s contact with the outside world. The arrests are intended to isolate Navalny and send a signal to other lawyers that it is dangerous to work on similar cases. Inna Sangadzhieva believes that the arrests show that Putin is afraid of Navalny and his influence, even though he is already in a penal colony. Show moreIgor Sergunin, Vadim Kobzev and Aleksej Liptser are all charged with helping people in an extremist group. All have been remanded in custody until December 13 after being arrested on Friday, reports Mediazona.Navalny’s organization has long since been labeled an “extremist group”.
– With this, Navalny’s only contact with the outside world is cut off. From now on, we no longer even know if he is alive, writes the chairman of Navalny’s organization, Maria Pevtshikh, on X.
– This is only getting worse and worse, says Inna Sangadzhieva of the Helsinki Committee to VG.
– This is done primarily to isolate Navalny. Everyone else around him has long since been stopped. Now his lawyers are next out. They have been important messengers for him, continues Sangadzhieva.
OPPOSITION LEADER: Alexei Navalny. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP / NTB
It is then also stated in the charges that, through their legal function, they have authorized the transfer of information between leaders of the “extremist group” and Navalny.
– Putin has always been afraid of Navalny. He has always been afraid of popular actions. And now he is preparing for the presidential election in spring 2024, says Inna Sangadzhieva.
– By isolating Navalny further, he prevents criticism from emerging. The lawyers have previously passed on Navalny’s messages, which have been posted on social media. His messages have been regularly seen there. Now this becomes significantly more difficult.
She believes that these arrests are also a clear message to other lawyers:
– It is a signal to other lawyers who work on similar cases and who pass information on. This will threaten them into silence. Show that it is dangerous for them to do the same as these three lawyers have done.
– I have been in contact with several lawyers who say that it is now their turn – and yet another chapter in Putin’s repression. Recently, Frode Berg’s former lawyer Ilja Novikov was also charged.
Alexei Navalny together with lawyer Vadim Kobzev in a trial in 2017. Now Kobzev has also been arrested. Photo: Ivan Sekretarev / AP / NTB
– What punishments do you think this will end up with?
– His organization has been declared extremist, and there may therefore be harsh punishments. Anyone associated with Navalny could face harsh penalties, up to ten years in prison. Lilia Tsjanysheva, Navalny’s colleague and an active local politician from Ufa, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison this summer.
– What does this show?
– It shows that Putin is afraid of Navalny, despite the fact that he put him in the country’s strictest penal colony. The authorities then still have to arrest his lawyers to silence him. They must cut off all his contact with the outside world. It is a weakness for the Putin regime, believes Sangadzhieva.
In August, Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison, a sentence that comes in addition to a sentence he is already serving for eleven years and six months. The new sentence is linked to further “extremist” activity.
The opposition leader and corruption hunter has at the same time been moved to a different prison camp than he has been until now.
PS: A lawyer who has defended the opposition in Crimea was also arrested on Friday. His name is Oleksiy Ladin and he is reportedly getting away with an administrative sentence.
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Published: 15.10.23 at 03:17
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2023-10-15 01:17:04
#Navalny #lawyers #imprisoned #Putin #afraid
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