Germany calls on Russia to release Navalny’s lawyers

The German government on Friday condemned the jailing in Russia of three lawyers who had defended late opposition leader Alexei Navalny and called for their release.

“Today’s shocking verdict comes as no surprise: Even those meant to defend others before the law face harsh persecution,” human rights commissioner Luise Amtsberg said on the Bluesky social network, adding that the three “must be freed”.

Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin were found guilty of participating in an “extremist organisation” after a closed-door trial and given jail terms of between three and a half and five and a half years.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer told a press conference that the case showed that Russia’s “system of repression has reached another sad low point”.

“The politically motivated trials against Navalny and against countless other critics… show how brutally the Russian government and justice system act against those who think differently.”