A trial begins for lawyers who once represented the Kremlin’s late foe Alexei Navalny

PETUSHKI, Russia (AP) — Three lawyers who once represented the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny have gone on trial in Russia. The trial began Thursday for Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser, who were arrested in October 2023 on charges of involvement with an extremist group. The case was seen as a way to ramp up pressure on Navalny, the Kremlin’s fiercest foe. His lawyers were accused of using their status as defense attorneys to pass information from him to his team. Navalny’s organizations were outlawed as extremist groups in 2021, a step that exposed anyone involved with them to prosecution. Navalny was serving 19 years in prison at the time of his still-unexplained death in February.