Russian law enforcement authorities haveraided the homes of lawyers representing jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, his allies said on Friday, detaining at least one of the lawyers in the latest crackdown against oppositionLeonid Volkov, a longtime Navalny ally, said the imprisoned activist's lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Lipster whose apartments were searched in Moscow face up to six years imprisonment for membership in an extremist community.
This is an act of intimidation with a clear intention to strengthen Navalnys isolation from the outer world, Volkov wrote on the social media website X (formerly Twitter).Kobzev was due in court on Friday to represent Navalny in a lawsuit he has launched against the prison where he is being held, but several aides said he was absent.This is why it's all being done: so that Alexei is left without legal protection, without a connection to the outside world,Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.Navalny, speaking at a court hearing Friday morning,saidthe searches perfectly encapsulate not only my trial, but the state of legality in Russia in general.A Moscow court blacklisted his political and activist organizations in 2021 as extremist, forcing most of his allies to flee the country over fears of being arrested.Navalny communicates with the outside world through his lawyers as he serves a 19-year jail term on extremism charges, which his supporters decry as politically motivated.Volkov said the lawyers would not be able to visit the imprisoned opposition activist once he is transferred to a maximum-security facility as part of his latest conviction.In August, a court ruled to send Navalny to a special regime colony, a maximum-security facility reserved for dangerous criminals that will all but cut him off from the outside world.