Alexei Liptser, one of the late Alexei Navalny's lawyers, was sentenced to over 5.5 years in prison on charges of «extremism.» Photo: Yevgeny Kuryakin / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
A regional court in Vladimir, Russia, has denied a request from Alexei Liptser to be allowed to attend the funeral of his mother, Elena Liptser, who died Sept. 5. Liptser, a member of the legal team that defended the late Alexei Navalny, is currently in custody after being convicted of “extremism” along with fellow attorneys Vadim Kobzev and Igor Sergunin.
The ruling was made by Judge Yuri Paltsev, who is handling Liptser’s appeal, according to a report by the independent Russian publication Novaya Gazeta.
The court argued that since Liptser’s conviction on extremism charges has not yet entered into force, he has no right to be transferred outside the pretrial detention center, even in “exceptional circumstances.” The judge said such a possibility is granted only to those who have already been formally sentenced.
However, as the outlet noted, in November 2023 theater director Evgeniya Berkovich, then on remand over charges of “extremism,” was transferred to attend her grandmother’s funeral even though her conviction had not yet taken effect.
Prior to Elena Lipster’s death, Novaya Gazeta appealed to the head of the Vladimir court and to Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, asking that Alexei Liptser be allowed to say goodbye to his mother. That request was also denied.
Elena Liptser, a prominent Moscow lawyer and the daughter of rights activist Lev Ponomaryov, died Sept. 5 at the age of 59 after a long illness. In recent months, she had struggled with her son’s imprisonment and hoped to see him freed.
Alexei Liptser was arrested in October 2023 and later convicted — along with colleagues Sergunin Kobzev — on charges of “extremism.” The authorities accused the three attorneys of participating in an extremist organization tied to Navalny’s networks — particularly for allegedly transmitting information from Navalny to the outside world while he was in prison. Meetings between Navalny and his legal team were illegally recorded by hidden cameras placed by employees of the Russian government.
Liptser received a prison sentence of five years in a general-regime penal colony and was banned from practicing law for three years after his release. He has been recognized as a political prisoner by Memorial, Russia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization.
Many of Navalny’s associates and supporters have been charged with extremism in the years since 2021, when the Russian government branded Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and his regional offices as extremist organizations. This designation has put former employees, volunteers, and supporters at risk of criminal prosecution.
The death of Alexei Navalny in the IK-3 prison above the Arctic Circle was reported by Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service on Feb. 16, 2024. The politician's family and associates are certain that he was murdered.
Russian government documents corroborate the conclusion that Navalny did not die of natural causes. In September 2024, The Insider released an investigation based on hundreds of official files related to Navalny’s death. They indicate that the politician was poisoned while in a Russian prison.