Prominent lawyer leaves Russia citing government pressure

MOSCOW – A prominent lawyer who represented both a former Russian journalist accused of treason and the team of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Tuesday that he has left Russia after authorities launched a criminal probe against him. A rights group that the lawyer headed has also shut down under government pressure. In a statement posted on the Telergram messaging app, Ivan Pavlov said has left for Georgia and drew attention to restrictions imposed on him as a suspect in a criminal probe.