Russian court sentences three of Alexei Navalny's former lawyers to prison for alleged extremist activity

In October 2023, Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser, three lawyers who defended Alexei Navalny, were arrested and accused of using their status to relay messages between Navalny and his colleagues. The lawyers were tried behind closed doors in Petushki, a location east of Moscow, and received prison sentences: Kobzev was sentenced to five and a half years, Liptser to five years, and Sergunin to three and a half years. The trio was also banned from working as lawyers for three years.