Ivan Zhdanov, an associate of Alexei Navalny in exile, published an official letter from prosecutors in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, stating that they have overturned the August decision by investigators against opening an investigation into the death of the late Russian opposition politician.
The letter indicates that the case has been referred to the Investigative Committee. In August, Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said that Russian authorities had refused to open an investigation into her husband’s death. The outspoken Kremlin critic died in February in an Arctic prison while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges he dismissed as politically motivated.
On August 20, the Russian Supreme Court also extended the detention of three lawyers who previously represented Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and now face extremism charges, according to the Associated Press.
The court also refused to transfer their case to another court, despite the defense citing a conflict of interest.
Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser were arrested in October in a case that at the time was seen as a tool to increase pressure on Kremlin’s most determined opponent.
Authorities accused the lawyers of using their status to pass letters from the imprisoned politician to his team, thus acting as intermediaries between Navalny and what they referred to as “extremist groups.”
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny behind glass in a cage during a court hearing in Moscow, February 20, 2021.
Navalny’s organizations in Russia – the Anti-Corruption Foundation and a wide network of regional offices – were declared illegal and designated as extremist groups in 2021. This move exposed all associated individuals to criminal prosecution.
Alexei Navalny was found dead in a Siberian prison under suspicious circumstances six months ago at the age of 47.
The defense lawyers for the three attorneys filed a request with the Supreme Court to transfer their case from the Vladimir region court, claiming it is not objective or impartial. The defense argued that most of the prosecution’s evidence was gathered in a law enforcement raid they say was illegal and ordered by a high court in the same region, representing a conflict of interest.
It is also claimed that courts in Vladimir pressured Navalny’s lawyers to disclose confidential communications with him prior to Navalny’s death in a remote Arctic prison.
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny (44), who is in critical condition in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Omsk, Siberia, is the latest in a series of possible poisoning cases.
Navalny himself has faced more than 30 years of prison sentences, including extremism charges related to his anti-corruption activism.
He and his allies have dismissed all charges against him as politically motivated and accused the Kremlin of wanting to imprison him for life.
In February, Russian authorities also added two more of Navalny’s lawyers to the wanted list. One of them, Olga Mihailova, who defended the politician for a decade, said she was accused of extremism after leaving the country.
Another, Alexander Fedulov, also stated last year that he was no longer in Russia.
