Three lawyers representing Alexey Navalny, the Kremlin critic who passed away last year in an Arctic prison, have been convicted by a Russian court for belonging to an extremist group. Igor Sergunin, Alexei Liptser, and Vadim Kobzev were sentenced to three-and-a-half, five, and five-and-a-half years, respectively, following a trial held behind closed doors in Petushki, east of Moscow.
The lawyers were accused by prosecutors of using their status to pass letters written by Navalny during his imprisonment to his associates, allegedly enabling him to continue leading an extremist organization. Navalny, who died while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges he denied, passed away suddenly in February last year. The Russian prison service attributed his death to feeling unwell after a walk, while the Kremlin denied any involvement, though many Western nations and Navalny's allies blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
