Vadim Kobzev, known as the lawyer of Alexei Navalny, will not be released from the pre-trial detention center. This decision was made today by the Moscow City Court, which rejected the relevant petition.

Last month, three of Navalny’s lawyers were arrested on charges of participation in an extremist community: Alexey Liptser, Igor Sergunin and Vadim Kobzev.

All are charged under Part 2 of Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Participation in an extremist community), the sanction of which provides for from 2 to 6 years of imprisonment. All three meetings were held behind closed doors. The details of the charges were not publicly disclosed, but nevertheless, excerpts from the case materials (the authenticity of which was not officially confirmed) were published online, according to which the defenders used their status to gain access to the colony and to regularly transfer information between members of the community. This in turn allowed Navalny to continue to function as a leader and leader of the community.

On August 4, 2023, Alexey Navalny was sentenced by the Moscow City Court to an additional 19 years in prison in a special regime colony on charges of participating in an extremist community, financing extremist activities and inciting extremism on the Internet.

*June 9, 2021 The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), created by Alexei Navalny in 2011, was recognized as an extremist organization and liquidated in accordance with a court decision. On September 29, 2021, the Ministry of Justice excluded FBK from the register of “foreign agents” due to the abolition of the organization.