The court in Moscow today extended until August 3 the pretrial detention of three lawyers of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February of this year, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Alexey Liptser, Igor Sergunin and Vadim Kobzev, accused of "extremism", a crime punishable by heavy prison terms, were arrested last October and then put on the list of "extremists". Since then, their pre-trial detention has been extended several times.
Today, the court approved the investigator's request for the re-extension of pre-trial detention.
The lawyers, who face up to six years in prison, are accused of providing Navalny, who was imprisoned in Russia from January 2021 until his death on February 16 this year, with information that allowed him to "plan, prepare and commit extremist crimes." from the cell.
"We are accused of passing on information to Navalny. Navalny no longer needs it, he is dead," said one of the lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, during the hearing.
Arrested in Moscow in January 2021 after returning from Germany, where he was hospitalized after being a victim of poisoning blamed on the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny was subsequently sentenced to several prison terms.
The last one, in August 2023, sentenced him to 19 years in prison for "extremism".
His organization, the Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK), has also been classified as "extremist" in Russia since 2021.
Known for his anti-corruption investigations, Navalny mostly communicated from prison through messages he sent to lawyers, in which he specifically condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called on the Russians to "resist".
The circumstances of his death in the Arctic penal colony remain unclear.
According to the specialized non-governmental organization OVD-Info, almost 20.000 Russians have been arrested since the start of the conflict in Ukraine for protesting against Kremlin policies.
Almost all of the main opponents are behind bars – such as Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilija Yashin – or are in exile abroad.
Bonus video:
