Today, Russian lawyer Vadim Kobzev turns 42 in prison. Separated from his wife and three children for doing his job, he spends his birthday alone. HRF condemns his arbitrary detention and calls on the Russian regime to release him immediately and unconditionally.

Kobzev represented the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny for over a decade. At the time of Navalny’s murder in 2024, Kobzev was the only lawyer still defending him, standing by his client despite mounting repression and clear personal risk.

In 2023, Kobzev and fellow attorney Alexei Liptser were arrested on trumped-up extremism charges. In 2025, they were sentenced to more than five years in prison for one reason: that they stood by their client. The Kremlin dubbed their routine legal work “extremism” to silence Navalny and those who defended him.

Kobzev is now held in harsh conditions in a penal colony in Kirov, Russia, where reports describe repeated solitary confinement, restricted outdoor access, and abuse by prison officials. HRF calls on Russia to stop its attacks on the legal profession and to free Vadim Kobzev and Alexei Liptser now.