The witness of the prosecution in the case of Lilia Chanysheva stated about the pressure

At the trial of the former chief of staff of Alexei Navalny in Ufa, Lilia Chanysheva, the prosecution witness, stated that she did not consider the defendant’s activities illegal and was forced to sign the necessary investigative documents under threats.

According to the witness (only her name is Anastasia), in February last year in Ufa she was actually kidnapped by two policemen and taken to the department. There, an employee of the Center for Combating Extremism, named Ishmukhametov, spoke with her. According to Anastasia, he demanded that she sign the documents necessary for the investigation and tried to recruit her, offering a monthly salary of 12 thousand rubles. In case of refusal, the employee threatened the girl with criminal prosecution. As a result, Anastasia agreed to sign the papers, but upon leaving the police station, she immediately informed Lilia Chanysheva about it.

It is noted that during her speech, the witness burst into tears while answering the public prosecutor’s questions, after which the court was adjourned.

• Liliya Chanysheva headed Navalny’s headquarters in Ufa since 2017. In November 2021, after the Russian authorities recognized the headquarters of the opposition as “extremist organizations”, she was arrested and accused of organizing an “extremist community”, calling for extremism, as well as creating an organization that violates the rights of Russian citizens. The trial in the case of Chanysheva is taking place in the Kirovsky District Court of Ufa. In total, the accused faces up to 18 years in prison.