The Moscow Basmanny Court has ordered the arrest of lawyer Igor Sergunin, who previously defended Alexei Navalny, currently listed as an extremist and terrorist individual by authorities. The order comes as part of an ongoing criminal case reported by RIA News.
The court stated that it accepted the investigator’s request to impose preventive measures in the form of arrest, and Sergunin will remain in custody until December 13. The session took place behind closed doors at the request of investigators, with the defense asking that Sergunin’s preventive measures not involve detention in pre-trial confinement.
Sergunin faces a criminal case accusing him of involvement in an extremist group, charged under Part 2 of Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The maximum penalty for this article is up to six years’ imprisonment. Soon after, the Basmanny Court extended similar preventive measures to two other Navalny defense lawyers, Alexey Liptser and Vadim Kobzev, who are also accused of participating in an extremist community.
“Protection is not complicity”
In the week preceding the court actions, on October 13, searches were conducted at the residences of Sergunin, Liptser, and Kobzev, with initial reports indicating involvement by Alexey Nakitov, a former Echo of Moscow editor who is widely described in Russia as a foreign agent.
Navalny’s ally Ivan Zhdanov, also designated as a foreign agent in Russia, posted on social media that case materials claim the lawyers used their professional status to gain access to the correctional institution and to facilitate communication between members of the alleged extremist group and Navalny, thus continuing to perform leadership roles within the organization and enabling the planning and execution of extremist activities.
Rights groups and human rights projects, including the First Chamber initiative, called for an end to the perceived persecution of Navalny’s legal team. They argued that the October 13, 2023 sequence would be remembered as a challenging moment for the legal profession in Russia, with three defense lawyers facing arrests on charges of participating in an extremist organization. Critics emphasized that lawyers provide essential constitutional protections and should remain separate from the clients they defend.
Advocacy groups noted that searches also targeted the Moscow bar association Dalet, where another Navalny defense lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, is a member, along with offices associated with lawyer Alexei Laden in Crimea. The overarching message from these voices was that legal representation should not be conflated with criminal activity attributed to clients.
Navalny’s trials
Navalny currently faces multiple charges, including the creation of an extremist network connected to the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which has been designated as extremist and labeled a foreign agent by the Ministry of Justice. He has spent time in prison since 2021 and has previously received sentences in related cases, including a 3.5-year term in the Yves Rocher matter and a nine-year sentence for large-scale fraud and contempt of court.
On September 26, a court decision upheld the legality of Navalny’s sentence related to extremism. The closed-door session cited safety concerns for prosecutors, with the conviction to be served in prison until December 2038. On September 27, Navalny was moved to a single-chamber room after being transferred to stricter conditions for serving his sentence, including placements such as SUON, ShIZO, and PKT facilities.
These proceedings are observed by international audiences who monitor political trials in Russia, and analysts in North America frequently discuss their implications for the rule of law and political dissent. Observers emphasize that legal processes in cases involving prominent opposition figures can influence perceptions of judicial independence, governmental transparency, and the protection of defense rights both domestically and abroad.