Kaliningrad court sentences rights lawyer Maria Bontsler to 12 years on a treason charge
A court in Russia's western enclave of Kaliningrad sentenced rights lawyer Maria Bontsler, 66, to 12 years in prison on Thursday on a treason charge, with prosecutors saying she passed sensitive information to Ukraine. Bontsler's lawyers said none of the information cited was secret, the rights group Slovo Zashchite said, and the trial was held behind closed doors. Prosecutors had sought 15 years.
Key points
- Maria Bontsler, 66, a rights lawyer in Kaliningrad, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on a treason charge; prosecutors had sought 15 years.
- Prosecutors said she passed information on security officers to Ukraine from 2024 — an allegation her lawyers reject, saying none of the information was secret.
- The trial was held behind closed doors, and a rights group said Bontsler was allowed only to give a closing statement.
What happened
Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Poland. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian treason and 'discrediting the army' cases against lawyers, journalists and activists have risen, often heard in closed proceedings.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That Bontsler was sentenced to 12 years, with a further year of restrictions, and that prosecutors had sought 15 years.
- That her lawyers say none of the information in the case was secret.
What we don't know yet
- Whether she will appeal, and what an appeal court would hear in open session.
- The full evidence in the case — the trial was held behind closed doors.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (3)
Why this label: The sentence and the court's own account of the allegations are as Reuters reported them from the court statement and the prosecutors' case.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Bontsler's defence position and the trial conditions are carried as the account of her lawyers and of Slovo Zashchite, a rights group supporting her.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The allegation was the prosecution's case in a trial held behind closed doors; it is carried as an allegation, not a finding open to public scrutiny.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why it matters
Bontsler defended people accused of political offences. Her conviction, in a closed trial her lawyers say she could not attend, is a warning to the small number of Russian lawyers still willing to take such cases.
Background
Prosecutors allege Bontsler began passing information on Kaliningrad security officers to Ukraine.
A Kaliningrad court sentences her to 12 years in prison on a treason charge.
Update history
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- Latest
Published. Basis: Reuters' report of the court's sentence, with the defence position carried from Bontsler's lawyers.