Lawyers who once represented Kremlin’s late foe Navalny go on trial in Russia

PETUSHKI, Russia (AP) — Three lawyers who once represented the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have gone on trial. The trial began on Thursday. The three were arrested in October 2023 on charges of involvement with an extremist group. The case was seen at the time as a means to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin’s fiercest foe. The lawyers were accused of using their status as defense attorneys to pass letters from the imprisoned politician to his team. Navalny’s organizations in Russia were outlawed as extremist groups in 2021, a step that exposed anyone involved with them to prosecution. Navalny himself had been serving prison terms totaling 19 years, including on extremism charges.