human rights defender

Igor Sergunin

Actions and Campaigns

Organization affiliation

  • DALET Moscow City Bar Association

HRD's year of birth

1978

HRD's Gender

Man

Type of HRD

  • Lawyer

HRD's thematic area of engagement

  • Civil and political rights

HRD's geographical origin

Urban

Current Status

In prison (sentenced)

HRD's bio and work

Igor Sergunin is a lawyer living in Moscow. He is a widower raising a minor child on his own.

Along with Aleksei Liptser and Vadim Kobzev, Sergunin was arrested in October 2023 and accused of participating in an "extremist community" (opposition politician's structures declared ‘extremist’ by authorities in 2021), they do not admit guilt. Two other former lawyers of the opposition leader managed to leave Russia, but were arrested in absentia and put on the wanted list.

The investigation believes that Navalny's lawyers, who defended the politician in different years, "took advantage of their status" and regularly passed on his letters from the colony. In this way, Navalny "continued to perform the functions of the leader and head of the extremist community," the investigation said. The authorities added the three lawyers to the list of people and organisations about which there is information about their involvement in "extremist activities" or "terror". Their bank accounts were frozen.

In February 2024, opposition leader and political prisoner Alexei Navalny, sentenced to 19 years in a colony and defended by these lawyers, died in the colony.

Memorial considers unlawful the decisions to initiate criminal proceedings in connection with the creation of an extremist community and participation in it against Alexei Navalny, his associates and now his lawyers.

Detained since

Oct 13, 2023

Charge(s)

  • Extremism

Sentence

3 years 6 months

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Europe: Eastern Europe

Location of detention - City/Town

Vladimir

Location of detention - Facility

FKU SIZO-1 UFSIN of Russia for the Vladimir Region 5A 9th of January Street Vladimir, 600021 Russia

Any other relevant documents

Situation of human rights in the Russian Federation - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation (A/HRC/57/59) https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session57/advance-versions/a-hrc-57-59-aev.docx