Top rights lawyer who fled Russia decries political 'purge'

FILE PHOTO: Ivan Pavlov, a lawyer defending Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in an extremism case, speaks with journalists after a court hearing in Moscow, Russia May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

TBILISI (Reuters) - A top human rights lawyer who defended jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's team and announced this week he had fled Russia accused authorities on Thursday of a mounting campaign to purge the political landscape of people they see as undesirable.

Defence lawyer Ivan Pavlov, 50, gained prominence for taking on politically sensitive cases and defending people charged with treason or espionage by the Federal Security Service, the successor to the Soviet KGB.