Kaliningrad court jails human rights lawyer, 66, for 12 years
A court in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave sentenced human rights lawyer Maria Bontsler, 66, to 12 years in prison for treason, a rights group said.
A court in Russia's Baltic exclave of sentenced human rights lawyer Maria Bontsler, 66, to 12 years in prison for treason on Thursday, the rights group Slovo Zashchite said. Prosecutors accused her of passing Ukraine sensitive information about security officers and criminal cases in the region, Mediafax and Naftemporiki reported.
The court's own statement, published on Telegram, did not name Bontsler but said the defendant had been detained by Russia's domestic security service, the FSB, accused of passing information to Ukraine since 2024 about security officials in Kaliningrad and about criminal cases of interest to Kyiv, Mediafax reported. She also received an additional year of restrictions on her activity after release, Naftemporiki reported.
Prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence, Slovo Zashchite said, according to Naftemporiki. Bontsler's lawyers argued that none of the information cited by prosecutors was classified, and said her health had deteriorated significantly during her time in detention, the group said.
The trial was held behind closed doors, and neither Bontsler nor her lawyers were allowed to attend except for a final statement, Slovo Zashchite said, according to Naftemporiki and Mediafax. The group had provided legal assistance to several defendants facing political charges in Kaliningrad, a Russian territory on the Baltic Sea bordered by Lithuania and Poland, Mediafax reported.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia's parliament has passed laws criminalising public statements seen as discrediting the armed forces and banning the spread of what it calls false information about the military, Mediafax and Naftemporiki reported. Russian courts have also convicted lawyers who took on politically sensitive cases; in January 2025, a court sentenced three lawyers for jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny to prison terms of between three and a half and five and a half years on extremism charges, Mediafax reported.
Follow this story
An email when there is a real update (a new toll, a cause, an arrest). Nothing else; stop with one click.
Free: one story at a time. Members follow as many stories as they like.
What we know
- Official · Kaliningrad court A Kaliningrad court sentenced human rights lawyer Maria Bontsler, 66, to 12 years in prison for treason on Thursday, rights group Slovo Zashchite said.
- Official · prosecutors Prosecutors accused her of passing Ukraine information about security officers and criminal cases in the region since 2024, Mediafax reported.
- Official · FSB; prosecutors She was detained by Russia's FSB security service; prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence, Naftemporiki reported.
- 2+ outlets · Mediafax, Naftemporiki Her lawyers said none of the cited information was classified and that her health had deteriorated in detention, Slovo Zashchite said.
- 2+ outlets · Mediafax, Naftemporiki The trial was held behind closed doors; neither Bontsler nor her lawyers were allowed to attend except for a final statement.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Why it matters for Europe
Bontsler's case adds to a string of convictions of lawyers and activists in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, as authorities have widened the use of treason and so-called discrediting-the-army charges against people seen as sympathetic to Kyiv or willing to take on politically sensitive cases, Mediafax and Naftemporiki reported. Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea sealed off between Lithuania and Poland, is also where Russia's FSB said this week it had detained two Polish men on separate espionage charges, which Poland dismissed as a provocation.
Sources
Reported by 3 reports from 3 independent outlets in 3 countries.
- Naftemporiki: Ρωσία: Δικαστήριο στο Καλίνινγκραντ καταδίκασε 66χρονη δικηγόρο σε κάθειρξη 12 ετών με την κατηγορία της εσχάτης προδοσίας
- Mediafax: Avocată pentru drepturile omului, condamnată la 12 ani de închisoare de un tribunal din Kaliningrad
- Novinky.cz: Kaliningrad, malá ruská výspa v Evropě, je Putinovou Achillovou patou
Source balance
PremiumSee how the 3 outlets behind this story spread from left to right, and which are official or OSINT sources.
Intelligence file
PremiumSee how we verified this story
Confidence and impact scores, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Questions and answers
- Who is Maria Bontsler?
- A 66-year-old human rights lawyer in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave who had defended several people facing politically sensitive charges, according to the rights group Slovo Zashchite.
- What was she convicted of?
- A Kaliningrad court sentenced her to 12 years in prison for treason, finding she passed Ukraine information about security officials and criminal cases in the region since 2024, Mediafax and Naftemporiki reported.
- Was the trial public?
- No. Slovo Zashchite said the trial was held behind closed doors and that Bontsler and her lawyers were only allowed to attend for a final statement.
This article was written with AI assistance from 3 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.