27 February 2024 , 17:33
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A lawyer who represented the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny was arrested in Moscow today, Russian news media has said.
According to Russian media sources, Vasily Dubkov was detained for "violating public order", but the Russian authorities have not yet confirmed the arrest of Dubkov. Following Navalny's death, Dubkov accompanied his mother Lyudmila Navalnaya to the Arctic prison colony where he died in a bid to get his body back.
Dubkov has been taken to Moscow’s Schcherbinksky district police station, according to the Sota media outlet. Three of Navalny’s lawyers were jailed in October 2023 on accusations related to the Kremlin critic’s groups being banned as "extremist." Two other Navalny lawyers have since fled Russia.
Lyudmila Navalnaya (R), mother of Alexei Navalny, with another lawyer last week (ANATOLY MALTSEV/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Navalny, died on February 16 in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated and many deemed bogus. Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow of his own accord after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. He was later handed three prison sentences on charges he rejected as politically motivated.
His family spent a week fighting with the authorities, who reportedly insisted on a secret funeral before his body was returned to them. Prominent Russians released videos calling on authorities to release the body. Western nations have hit Russia with more sanctions in response to Navalny’s death as well as for the invasion of Ukraine, which marked its second anniversary on Saturday.
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Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said Monday they were looking for a venue for a memorial service later this week.