Three lawyers for jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were detained Friday after raids by Russian security services. It was announced earlier on Friday that their homes were raided on a case of ‘extremism’.

These include Vadim Kobchev, Igor Cherkunin and Alexei Lipser, all of whom have defended Navalny. They were remanded in custody until at least December 13.

A refugee ally of opposition leader Leonid Volkov, X, said earlier on Twitter that the prosecutors were accused of being “members of an extremist community,” a crime he said carries a six-year prison sentence.

“The main goal is to deprive Alexei Navalny of his legal support and relations with the outside world,” another refugee activist, Georgy Alburov, wrote in X.

Alexei Navalny was arrested in January 2021 upon his return to Russia after being poisoned. He has since been handed harsher sentences, the most recent of which, in August, was a 19-year sentence for “extremism.” His organizations were also banned in June 2021 for the same reason, and most of their activists had to flee the country to avoid prosecution. (Belga)