{"id":16429,"date":"2024-09-30T11:31:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T11:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/case\/vadim-kobzev-igor-sergunin-et-alexei-liptser\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T11:58:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T11:58:39","slug":"vadim-kobzev-igor-sergunin-et-alexei-liptser","status":"publish","type":"listing","link":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/case\/vadim-kobzev-igor-sergunin-et-alexei-liptser\/","title":{"rendered":"Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin et Alexei Liptser"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/case\/vadim-kobzev-igo\u2026t-alexei-liptser\/#Alerta2\">ALERT 30\/09\/2024<\/a><\/h4>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/case\/vadim-kobzev-igo\u2026t-alexei-liptser\/#Alerta1\">ALERT 31\/10\/2023<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"Alerta2\"><\/a>RUSSIA :\u00a0Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny\u2019s lawyers tried behind closed doors<\/h2>\n<p><strong>30 September 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alexei Liptser, Igor Sergounine and Vadim Kobzev, arrested in October 2023, face up to six years in prison for \u201cproviding information to their client in order to prepare extremist crimes\u201d. These charges are obviously linked to their defence of the most prominent opponent of Vladimir Putin\u2019s regime, who died in prison last February.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The lawyers\u2019 trial is taking place under secretive conditions in Petushki, a secluded town to the north-east of Moscow. Since the start of the hearings in September, the press and the public have been systematically excluded on the pretext of a closed session, preventing any transparency.<\/p>\n<p>The accusations against these lawyers are based in particular on the tapping of their telephone conversations with their clients, an illegal practice that seriously violates the principle of confidentiality of lawyer-client communications. Alexei Liptser, Igor Sergounine and Vadim Kobzev are also accused of smuggling Navalny\u2019s letters out of prison, \u201chelping him to carry out extremist activities behind bars\u201d. They were also added to a list of \u2018terrorists and extremists\u2019 in Russia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Observatory\u00a0is deeply concerned\u00a0<\/strong>about the trial behind closed doors of Alexe\u00ef Navalny\u2019s three lawyers, who have been charged with \u2018extremism\u2019 in Russia.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Observatory denounces\u00a0<\/strong>this serious attack on the rights of defence and<strong>\u00a0reiterates its solidarity\u00a0<\/strong>with the lawyers persecuted for defending fundamental rights in Russia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Observatory calls on the Russian authorities\u00a0<\/strong>to :<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ensure a fair, public and transparent trial for Alexei Liptser, Igor Sergounine and Vadim Kobzev<\/li>\n<li>Respect professional secrecy and put an end to the use of eavesdropping in legal proceedings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Observatory recalls that<\/strong>, in accordance with the\u00a0<strong>United Nations basic principles on the role of the Bar<\/strong>, in particular\u00a0<strong>principles 18, 22 and 27<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201c<strong>Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients<\/strong>\u00a0or their clients\u2019 causes as a result of discharging their functions.\u201d (<u>Principle 18)<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cGovernments shall recognize and respect that\u00a0<strong>all communications and consultations between lawyers and their clients within their professional relationship are confidential<\/strong>.\u201d (<u>Principle 22)<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201c<strong>Charges or complaints made against lawyers<\/strong>\u00a0in their professional capacity shall be\u00a0<strong>processed expeditiously and fairly under appropriate procedures<\/strong>. Lawyers shall have the right to a fair hearing, including the right to be assisted by a lawyer of their choice.\u201d (<u>Principle 27)<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"Alerta1\"><\/a>RUSSIA :\u00a0Lawyers for Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny detained by the authorities<\/h2>\n<p><strong>31 October 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Three of the lawyers representing Vladimir Putin\u2019s opponent, Alexei Navalny, have been arrested and detained after their homes were searched by the Russian authorities.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser were subject to arbitrary searches and arrests by the Russian authorities. They are accused of participating in an extremist group.<\/p>\n<p>As Alexei Navalny has been serving a 19-year prison sentence since 2021, these arrests represent a way of completely isolating the Russian opposition leader. Navalny is due to be transferred to a high-security detention centre, the highest level of security in the Russian prison system.<\/p>\n<p>These arrests highlight the increased pressure on lawyers and political detainees in Russia. Indeed, the conditions under which lawyers in Russia practise their profession are notoriously difficult, making their work extremely challenging. As the judicial system is closely linked to the activities of the political authorities, these difficulties are all the more compelling when political cases are involved.<\/p>\n<p>Alexei Navalny\u2019s lawyers were his only means of communication with the outside world, particularly his close relatives. According to Navalny\u2019s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, \u201cif he won\u2019t have access to lawyers, he will end up in complete isolation, the kind no one can really even imagine\u201d [1].<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Observatory condemns<\/strong>\u00a0the Russian authorities\u2019 interference in the exercise of the profession of lawyer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Observatory urges the authorities<\/strong>\u00a0to implement immediate measures to put an end to all forms of aggression against lawyers in the Russian Federation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Observatory urges the Russian Federation<\/strong>\u00a0to ensure full respect of all fair trial guarantees in the cases involving Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Observatory recalls<\/strong>\u00a0that, in accordance with the provisions of the\u00a0<strong>United Nations Principles on the Role of Lawyers<\/strong>, in particular\u00a0<strong>principles 16, 18 and 27<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Principle 16<\/u><\/strong>:\u00a0<em>\u201cGovernments shall ensure that lawyers (a)\u00a0<strong>are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference<\/strong>; (\u2026)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Principle 18<\/u><\/strong>:\u00a0<em>\u201c<strong>Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients<\/strong>\u00a0or their clients\u2019 causes as a result of discharging their functions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Principle 27<\/u><\/strong>:\u00a0<em>\u201c<strong>Charges or complaints made against lawyers<\/strong>\u00a0in their professional capacity shall be\u00a0<strong>processed expeditiously and fairly under appropriate procedures<\/strong>. Lawyers shall have the right to a fair hearing, including the right to be assisted by a lawyer of their choice.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[1]\u00a0The Guardian, \u201cRussia detains lawyers acting for opposition leader Alexei Navalny\u201d, published on 14 October 2023, available\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2023\/oct\/14\/russia-detains-lawyers-acting-for-opposition-leader-alexei-navalny\">online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"listing_category":[61],"event_category":[],"service_category":[],"rental_category":[],"classifieds_category":[],"listing_feature":[],"region":[89,1999],"class_list":["post-16429","listing","type-listing","status-publish","hentry","listing_category-imprisoned","region-asia-en","region-russia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/listing\/16429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/listing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/listing"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16429"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/listing\/16429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20635,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/listing\/16429\/revisions\/20635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/listing_category?post=16429"},{"taxonomy":"event_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_category?post=16429"},{"taxonomy":"service_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/service_category?post=16429"},{"taxonomy":"rental_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rental_category?post=16429"},{"taxonomy":"classifieds_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/classifieds_category?post=16429"},{"taxonomy":"listing_feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/listing_feature?post=16429"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/protect-lawyers.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=16429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}