It appears that Alexei Navalny is not destined to rest in peace . . . not yet, at any rate. Because three of his lawyers, who were tried in secrecy in September of 2024 on “extremism” charges lodged against them the previous year, are being sentenced today. It is a foregone conclusion that they will be found guilty; the only question remaining to be answered is how long their prison sentences will be.

Imagine being a lawyer in any democratic country, and knowing that you might very well be held criminally liable simply for representing a client who had been found guilty of . . . well, of almost anything. I wonder how long it would take for all of the law schools to shut down for lack of students.

But three men who represented the late Alexei Navalny — Igor Sergunin, Aleksei Liptser and Vadim Kobzev — are being sentenced for exactly that. They have been accused of participating in an “extremist” organization — Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) — which had been labeled as extremist and banned in Russia in 2021. [RFE/RL, January 10, 2025.]

Investigators said that they used their “status” to convey messages between Navalny and his associates, thus enabling him to “conduct extremist activities from behind bars.” [Id.] The charges against them could result in sentences of up to six years; prosecutors have demanded prison terms of at least five years for each of the three.

Following Navalny’s unexplained death in a Russian penal colony nearly a year ago, two of his lawyers, Aleksandra Fedulova and Olga Mikhailova, fled Russia, as did his wife and children and other members of the FBK.

In today’s Russia — Vladimir Putin’s Russia — it has become the only way to remain honest, and survive.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/10/25