‘We’re like a bone in their throat’: After seven years of defending Russia’s most difficult political cases, prominent legal group Team 29 disbands fearing prosecution

August 2021 should have marked the seventh anniversary of Team 29 - an independent association of lawyers, attorneys, and journalists known for tackling some of Russia's most hopeless human rights cases. But on July 18, the group announced it was disbanding to protect its members and supporters from criminal prosecution. The shutdown came just days after Russia's censorship agency blocked Team 29's website for allegedly publishing content from an "undesirable organization." In a statement, Team 29 said that they couldn't ignore the risks associated with continuing their work and that going forward, their lawyers will defend clients in an exclusively personal capacity. In conversation with Meduza, now-former Team 29 member Evgeny Smirnov said that he and his colleagues have long been a "bone in throat" of the Russian authorities. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/07/19/we-re-like-a-bone-in-their-throat