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Russia hands jail sentences to three Navalny lawyers

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Russia hands jail sentences to three Navalny lawyers

Lawyers face up to five years in jail on charges of links to Navalny’s groups, which the Kremlin deems ‘extremist’.

A Russian court has sentenced three lawyers who had defended the late opposition leader Alexey Navalny to several years in prison.

Friday’s sentences come as Russia, amid a massive crackdown during its war on Ukraine, seeks to punish Navalny’s associates since his unexplained death in an Arctic prison colony in February 2024.

Igor Sergunin, Alexei Liptser and Vadim Kobzev were handed sentences ranging from three and a half years to five years by a court in the town of Petushki, about 100km (60 miles) east of Moscow for bringing messages from the late opposition leader from prison to the outside world.

The independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that Kobzev said in his final statement in court on January 10 that “we are being tried for transmitting Navalny’s thoughts to other people”.

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They were arrested in October 2023 on charges of involvement with “extremist” groups, as Navalny’s networks were deemed by authorities.

The case was widely seen as a way to increase pressure on the opposition to discourage defence lawyers from taking political cases.

At the time, Navalny was serving a 19-year prison term on several criminal convictions, including extremism, which he has vehemently denied.

Navalny’s networks were deemed extremist following a 2021 ruling that outlawed his organisations – the Anti-Corruption Foundation and a network of regional offices – as extremist groups.

That ruling, which exposed anyone involved with the organisations to prosecution, was condemned by Kremlin critics as politically motivated and designed to stifle Navalny’s activities.

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According to Navalny’s allies, authorities accused the lawyers of using their position to pass information from him to his team.

Navalny, an anticorruption campaigner and outspoken opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in 2021 upon his return from Germany, where he was recuperating from a nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.

In December 2023, Navalny was moved from a penal colony in the Vladimir region east of Moscow to one above the Arctic Circle, where he died the following February at the age of 47 under still-unexplained circumstances.

On Friday, his widow issued a statement calling for the three lawyers to be freed “immediately”, describing them as “political prisoners”.

Two other lawyers, Olga Mikhailova and Alexander Fedulov, are on a wanted list but no longer live in Russia.

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Rescue Workers and Aid Arrive in Venezuela, Official Says

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More than 1,600 rescue workers have arrived and 25 flights filled with aid will land over the next day in Venezuela after earthquakes devastated the country on Wednesday, according to Venezuela’s vice minister of foreign affairs, Oliver Blanco.

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American rescue teams pull infant alive from rubble in Venezuela days after devastating twin earthquakes

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American rescue teams pull infant alive from rubble in Venezuela days after devastating twin earthquakes

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American search-and-rescue teams pulled an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela days after the country’s devastating earthquakes, the U.S. Department of State said Saturday.

The State Department shared video on social media showing U.S. personnel pulling the infant from the rubble as rescue crews continued searching for survivors more than 72 hours after two powerful earthquakes struck the South American country.

The infant was 9 months old and was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. Both suffered only minor injuries, according to the rescue team.

“This heroic rescue was carried out in Catia La Mar by the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team (USA-01), which deployed to Venezuela on June 26 following activation by the State Department,” a State Department spokesperson said.

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TRUMP SAYS VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES LEFT ‘DEVASTATING NUMBER OF DEATHS’ AS US READIES AID

American search-and-rescue teams rescued an infant trapped beneath the rubble following this week’s deadly earthquakes in Venezuela, according to the State Department. (Department of State)

The rescue comes as emergency crews race against time to locate survivors before the critical rescue window closes.

“Against impossible odds, hope endures,” the State Department posted on X.

“American search and rescue teams rescued an infant from beneath the rubble following the earthquake in Venezuela,” the post continued. “Every life saved is a victory.”

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The White House also shared the video, calling it “America at its best.”

“Thank you to the American search and rescue teams providing assistance in Venezuela,” the White House wrote.

PLAYERS, FANS FLEE STADIUM AS POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES STRIKE DURING VENEZUELA BASEBALL GAME

Rescue workers search through the rubble three days after earthquakes struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Round-the-clock rescue efforts have continued since magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast Wednesday.

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As of Saturday evening, officials said the death toll from the twin earthquakes had reached 1,430.

Earlier Saturday, officials reported that 243 people had been rescued.

FORMER METS PITCHER NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH IN VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES THANKS TO ELEVATOR MALFUNCTION

Rescue personnel with a rescue dog assist in rescue efforts after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday. (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

According to The Associated Press, more than 68,000 people remain missing across the country.

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Aid groups consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a disaster to be the most critical window for finding survivors, though access to food and water can extend that period.

Venezuelan officials said 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 rescue personnel had arrived Saturday to assist with search-and-rescue efforts.

US RESCUE TEAMS TO DESCEND ON HARD-HIT CARIBBEAN AFTER CATASTROPHIC HURRICANE MELISSA’S IMPACT

Members of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department’s international urban search and rescue team (USA-2) prepare to leave for Venezuela, in Pacoima, Calif., on Thursday. (Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images)

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday to help search collapsed buildings.

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According to the State Department, the three USAR teams include 312 personnel and 18 canine teams, including firefighters, physicians, structural engineers and canine search specialists. The teams also deployed more than 200,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment.

The Los Angeles County team includes 73 members equipped with concrete-breaking equipment and specialized listening devices used to detect survivors trapped beneath debris.

COLORADO AVALANCHE VICTIM RESCUED IN DRAMATIC VIDEO

Responders search for victims in a demolished building in Caracas, Venezuela, after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and a 7.5 aftershock struck the region. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

Rescuers have fanned out across La Guaira, where the worst destruction occurred, and parts of Caracas, where families and volunteers have spent days pulling survivors and victims from the rubble.

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The United States has pledged $150 million in emergency assistance and support for international relief organizations responding to the disaster.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for additional information on the rescue.

Fox News Digital’s James Cirrone, and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Serbian Vučić says he will resign in weeks and calls early elections

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Serbian Vučić says he will resign in weeks and calls early elections

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on Saturday that he will resign in the coming weeks and called for early presidential and parliamentary elections.

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“I will be president for only a few weeks, and then I will resign,” Vučić told supporters at a rally in Belgrade. His second and final term was due to expire in mid-2027.

His remarks followed recent comments suggesting he could step down, amid speculation that he may seek a return as prime minister, a position he held from 2014 to 2017

It also follows a year and a half of student-led anti-corruption protests, triggered by the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad that killed 16 people. The protesters have been demanding early elections.

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During his speech, Vučić said he would support his Serbian Progressive Party in the upcoming elections, including snap parliamentary polls originally scheduled for next year.

He did not provide a specific timeline for his resignation or for the dissolution of parliament, which is required before early legislative elections can be held.

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