Raids at homes of lawyers for jailed Russian Oppn leader

Alexey Navalny was arrested after returning from Germany. Pic/AP

Russian authorities on Friday searched the homes of three lawyers representing imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny and detained one of them, the politician's allies said.

The move against his lawyers is an attempt to "completely isolate Navalny," his ally Ivan Zhdanov said on social media. Navalny has been behind bars since January 2021, serving a 19-year prison sentence, but has been able to get messages out regularly and keep up with the news.

The raids targeting Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser are part of a criminal case on charges of participating in an extremist group, Zhdanov said. All three were detained after the search, apparently as suspects in the case, Navalny's team said on Telegram.

According to Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, the case against the lawyers comes at a time when the opposition leader is set to be transferred to a different penal colony, "unclear where." Volkov, who is living abroad, called it a "scary step". Navalny, 47, is President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe.

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