Lawyers Igor Sergunin, from left, Alexei Liptser and Vadim Kobzev. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The United States on Friday (January 17, 2025) condemned the sentencing in Russia of three lawyers for the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the State Department said.

 ”In this case, the Kremlin arrested and intimidated lawyers who were simply doing their jobs to ensure a political prisoner was afforded his right to legal representation, turning defense lawyers into political prisoners themselves,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“This is yet another example of the persecution of defense lawyers by the Kremlin in its effort to undermine human rights, subvert the rule of law, and suppress dissent.”