Three lawyers for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February 2024, have been sentenced to prison terms in Russia.
The sentences came at a time when Russia is seeking to punish Navalny's associates, AFP reported.
Alexei Liptser, sentenced to five years in prison, Igor Sergunin, sentenced to three and a half years, and Vadim Kobzev, sentenced to five and a half years, were arrested in October 2023, when Russian President Vladimir Putin's number one opponent was still alive.
They are accused of involvement in Navalny's organisation, which Russia considers extremist.
While serving his 19-year sentence, the Russian opposition figure communicated with the world by relaying messages through his lawyers, which his team posted on social media.
Authorities moved him to a stricter prison regime that limited contact with outsiders, then sent him to a remote colony above the Arctic Circle, where he died.
"We are on trial for transmitting Navalny's thoughts to other people," Kobzev said in court last week.
The court said the men "used their status as lawyers while visiting the convicted Navalny to ensure the regular transmission of information between members of the extremist community, including those wanted and hiding outside Russian Federation, and Navalny."
Following the announcement of the three lawyers' sentences, Navalny's wife Yulia said Kobzev, Liptser and Sergunin were "political prisoners and should be released immediately". | BGNES
