The sentencing of Vadim Kobzev, Aleksei Liptser, and Igor Sergunin, lawyers for the late Russian prisoner of conscience Aleksei Navalny, underscores an intensifying crackdown on the legal defence of human rights in Russia. Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, Marie Struthers, condemned the action, calling it a “shameful attempt to silence” those defending Navalny’s cause. Struthers stated, “By targeting lawyers for merely doing their job, the Russian authorities are dismantling what remains of the right to legal defence and abusing what is a criminal justice system only in name. We call on the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release these individuals and drop all charges against them. Their only ‘crime’ was standing up for justice and human rights.” Background On January 17, 2025, the Petushinsky District Court of Vladimir Oblast sentenced Kobzev to five years and six months, Liptser to five years, and Sergunin to three years and six months in prison. Additionally, all three were barred from practicing law for three years. The lawyers were arrested in October 2023 on charges of participating in an “extremist organization.” This designation was applied to Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in 2021. The authorities alleged that the lawyers acted as intermediaries, transmitting Navalny’s messages to FBK members, which they interpreted as facilitating extremist activities. In November 2023, the Russian financial regulator listed the three lawyers in its registry of “extremists and terrorists.” This action is part of a broader misuse of anti-extremism legislation by Russian authorities to suppress dissent. Pattern of Repression The targeting of these lawyers reflects an ongoing pattern in Russia’s judicial system, where individuals linked to Navalny’s movement or other state critics face arbitrary prosecution. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have consistently criticized the abuse of anti-extremism laws to stifle peaceful activism. This development is yet another blow to legal defence and human rights in Russia, highlighting the diminishing space for justice and accountability within the country.