Defense lawyers arrested and charged with extremism after representing Navalny are held in Matrosskaya Tishina jail

Three defense attorneys arrested and charged with organized extremism after representing the imprisoned Russian politician Alexey Navalny are being held at the notorious Moscow prison Matrosskaya Tishina.

Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexey Liptser were previously in pretrial detention at the facility known as SIZO-4 or “The Bear.” They have now been moved to the so-called Kremlin Central, a high-security segment of Matrosskaya Tishina. BBC News Russian reported on their location, citing Kobzev’s defense council Andrey Grivtsov.

Kremlin Central’s security rules are designed to prevent visiting attorneys from carrying any unauthorized materials in and out of the detention center.

According to the prosecution, the three current and former Navalny defense lawyers took part in an organized extremist group, by allegedly helping the Putin critic stay in touch with people outside of the penal colony where he now serves his 19-year sentence. It is also alleged that other members of the same “extremist organization” (likely a reference to Navalny’s associates at the Anti-Corruption Foundation) produced and published videos criticizing Russia for waging war in Ukraine.

Members of Navalny’s political team have said that arresting his defense lawyers is meant to leave Navalny in complete isolation from the outside world.

Russia’s legal community has voiced alarm over what many see as the authorities’ attempt to intimidate defense lawyers and force them to give up working on political cases.