Russian prosecutors seek 15 years for treason for Kaliningrad lawyer Maria Bontsler, 65, known for political cases

Prosecutors have asked a court to sentence Maria Bontsler, a 65-year-old Kaliningrad lawyer known for defending people in political cases, to 15 years in prison for treason, Meduza reported on 10 November, citing the legal news project Slovo Zashchite and lawyer Ilya Sidorov, who visited her in detention. Prosecutors are also seeking a period of restrictions on her movements and a 10,000-ruble fine. Bontsler was due to give her final statement in court on 11 November.

The case

Bontsler was detained in late May 2025 and has been held in pretrial detention since. She was first investigated for “confidential cooperation with a foreign state” (three to eight years), but the case was later reclassified as treason, which carries up to 20 years. Investigators allege that in 2024 she was tasked with gathering information about security officers investigating cases against people “cooperating with an unfriendly state” and passed information about criminal cases obtained through her work as a lawyer to “the intelligence services of an unfriendly state.” Meduza’s report does not include a response from Bontsler to the specific allegations.

Health concerns

According to OVD-Info, Bontsler has hypertensive heart disease, which puts her at high risk of stroke. In June 2026, her defence said she had nearly died in detention “because the medications she was prescribed were not coordinated with one another.”