Moscow’s Basmanny District Court has extended the arrest of politician Alexei Navalny’s lawyers Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser until 3 August

Despite the fact that the last hearing on the extension of the preventive measure was held in open mode, the investigator Telminov, looking angrily at the few journalists in the hall, asked to consider his motion to extend his arrest in a closed session. Judge Vakhrameev did not grant this request.

The defendants and their defence lawyers asked not to extend the arrest.

“We are accused of passing information to Navalny. And here Navalny doesn’t need it anymore. He is dead,” Vadim Kobzev said bitterly in court.

Alexey Liptser reminded the court that all the witnesses – four employees of the colony where Alexey Navalny was held – have already been questioned in the case, the evidence has been collected, and the investigation stage is over, the case will soon be sent to court: “I personally am not going to and cannot influence the investigation in any way.

The defence also attached documents on the disability of Alexei Liptser’s mother.

Alexei Liptser and Vadim Kobzev were visibly exhausted, both spoke quietly at the hearing. Vadim Kobzev had a hard time even sitting straight on the bench in the cage for the accused – he was leaning on his knees and could hardly hold his head.

Three lawyers who at different times represented Alexei Navalny – Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin – are accused in the case of participation in an “extremist community” (part 2 of article 282.1 of the Criminal Code). They have been in pre-trial detention since 13 October. In November, all three were included in the “list of extremists and terrorists” of Rosfinmonitoring.

The investigation decided that Navalny’s defenders, “using their status”, regularly passed on letters from the colony to his associates. In this way Navalny “continued to fulfil the functions of the leader and head of the extremist community”.

Source: zona.media