A court in the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad has sentenced 66-year-old rights lawyer Maria Bontsler to 12 years in prison on charges of treason. The sentence, handed down on Thursday, followed accusations from state prosecutors that she had shared sensitive security information with Ukraine. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a one-year period of post-release restrictions on her activities. The territory sits on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Poland.
According to the rights organization Slovo Zashchite, Bontsler had a history of representing individuals facing political charges within the region. An official court statement issued via Telegram—which omitted the defendant’s name—alleged that the Federal Security Service (FSB) detained her for passing information regarding regional security officers to Kyiv starting in 2024. Authorities further accused her of leaking details about various criminal cases of interest to Ukraine.
Slovo Zashchite reported that the legal proceedings were conducted behind closed doors. The defense was barred from attending the trial sessions, with Bontsler only permitted to deliver a final closing statement. Her legal representatives argued that the evidence presented by the prosecution was not classified and that her health had deteriorated while in detention. Prosecutors had originally requested a 15-year sentence.
This case reflects a broader trend in Russia where lawyers handling politically sensitive matters face increasing legal pressure. Since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the government has implemented strict laws against “discrediting” the military and disseminating “fake news.” These measures have frequently been used to target legal professionals, such as the January 2025 sentencing of three lawyers representing the late opposition figure Alexey Navalny. Those lawyers received prison terms ranging from three and a half to five and a half years for “extremism,” a move observers describe as an effort to deter counsel from taking on high-profile political cases. Parliament has approved laws that make public actions aimed at “discrediting” the army illegal and ban the spread of “fake news” about the armed forces, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
