A lawyer who helped the mother of late opposition figure Alexei Navalny recover his body from prison authorities was briefly detained, independent media reported Tuesday.
Vasily Dubkov had accompanied Lyudmila Navalnaya to Salekhard, the capital of Russia’s Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, following Navalny’s death in a nearby prison colony on Feb. 16. He and other Navalny lawyers helped Navalnaya lobby for the release of her son’s body until authorities finally handed him over on Feb. 24.
The Novaya Gazeta Europa news website reported, citing unidentified sources, that Dubkov was detained in Moscow on administrative charges of disorderly conduct.
He was taken to Moscow’s Schcherbinksky district police station, according to the Sota media outlet.
Dubkov later told the Vyorstka news outlet that he had been released. He declined to disclose why or how he was detained, saying only that he considered it to be an obstruction of his work as a lawyer.
Three of Navalny’s lawyers were jailed in October 2023 on accusations related to the Kremlin critic’s groups being banned as “extremist.”
Two other Navalny lawyers have since fled Russia.
Navalny’s team has said it plans to hold a public farewell for Navalny later this week but has so far been unable to find a venue willing to host it.
His team accused authorities of trying to block a public funeral, which could turn into a show of support for Navalny’s movement and his opposition to President Vladimir Putin.
This story is developing.