By Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, January 4,2023. Excerpt:

Lawyer Leonid Krikun left Russia. He acted as a defender in the cases of many oppositionists and civil activists – such as Sergei Mokhnatkin , the former coordinator of Navalny’s headquarters in Arkhangelsk Alexei Borovikov, priest John Kurmoyarov accused of spreading fakes about the Russian army and others.

According to SOTA, Krikun left the country for fear of persecution. He stated that he “does not want to test willpower in conditions of deprivation of liberty and contribute, albeit passively, to the functioning of the regime.”

Leonid Krikun has repeatedly made allegations that cases against activists and social activists are politically motivated and serve not as an instrument of justice, but as a way to suppress civil protest. After the start of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, he noted that the fighters of the so-called “Wagner PMC” and their relatives are actually deprived of legal rights and cannot count on the same assistance from the state as official military personnel.

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