From March 2021 to July 2022, Aleksei Lipzer represented opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16, 2024, in court as one of four defence attorneys. On October 13, 2023, a Moscow District Court ordered pretrial detention for Lipzer and his fellow lawyers for “participation in the activities of an extremist organisation.” By classifying all of Navalny’s activities as extremist and prohibited under the Foreign Agents Law, his legal counsel is also being persecuted as an extremist. On January 17, 2025, Lipzer was sentenced to five years in prison and has since been held in Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 in Vladimir, Central Russia.

This verdict sends a message to all lawyers that it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect people persecuted for political reasons in Russia. “The pressure on human rights defenders risks destroying what little remains of the rule of law. Lawyers should not be prosecuted for their work,” Lev Ponomarev, co-founder of the Russian human rights organisation “Memorial” – he is the grandfather of Aleksei Lipzer – commented on the verdict in a letter to the ISHR.

On September 6, 2025, Lipzer’s mother, herself a renowned lawyer, died after a long illness. The editorial staff of Novaya Gazeta subsequently published an appeal for the lawyer Aleksei Lipzer, who was in pre-trial detention, to be allowed to say goodbye to his mother. The ISHR supported this appeal. However, the court responded with a formal ruling: Since the verdict against Lipzer has been appealed and is therefore not yet final, the provision granting release to persons in prison due to exceptional personal circumstances does not apply to him.

Lipzer’s young family is penniless after his bank accounts were frozen. They can no longer even cover the travel costs for a visit to the prison, 200 kilometers away, on their own. Because of the ban on direct support from abroad, we are taking a detour through friends in Russia’s neighbouring countries. ISHR assistance for political prisoners in Russia includes assistance with legal fees, the purchase of necessary medication, travel expenses for visiting prisoners, and funding for public relations work to ensure that political prisoners are not forgotten.