UN Calls for Russia to Free Ill Lawyer Bontsler
GENEVA – The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, today condemned the arrest and ongoing arbitrary detention of Maria Bontsler, a 64-year-old human rights lawyer from Kaliningrad, who suffers from a serious chronic medical condition.
“This is a deeply troubling case of judicial harassment and criminalisation of a lawyer for simply doing her job,” Katzarova said. “Maria Bontsler’s arrest and prosecution are politically motivated and represent yet another example of the continuing attack on the independence of the legal profession in Russia.”
Bontsler was arrested on 29 May 2025 – two days before the Day of Russian Advocates on 31 May – and placed in pre-trial detention by the Leningradsky District Court of Kaliningrad. She was charged under article 275.1 of the Russian Criminal Code for alleged “confidential cooperation with a foreign state, aimed at undermining the national security of the Russian Federation” – a charge carrying up to eight years in prison.
For over 30 years, Bontsler chaired the now-dissolved regional Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, defending the legal rights of conscripts.
Bontsler is also known for defending clients in politically motivated cases, including Igor Baryshnikov, a prominent political prisoner, who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for posting “fake news” about the war in Ukraine. His health has rapidly deteriorated in detention, endangering his life. Just a week before her arrest, on 20 May 2025, the European Union sanctioned 28 Russian officials, including the judge in Baryshnikov’s case, where Bontsler served as defence counsel.
“This timing raises serious concerns that Bontsler’s arrest may be retaliatory,” the Special Rapporteur said. “The charges allege she passed security-related information to a foreign State – claims that contradict her legal activities as a defence lawyer and remain unsubstantiated.”
Maria Bontsler’s hearings are held behind closed doors, and her lawyers are bound by non-disclosure related to state secrets. “Her family remains in the dark and has not been allowed to visit,” the expert said.
Since her detention, Bontsler, who suffers from severe chronic hypertension, has been denied essential medical care. Discharged from hospital the day before her arrest following a hypertensive crisis, she reported dangerously high blood pressure while in custody. Despite her complaints, she has received no treatment and lacks a blood pressure monitor. Her family has also been barred from providing any medication. She has reported being given insufficient food and water, and sustaining bruises during transportation following her arbitrary arrest.
“Denying medical treatment to a seriously ill detainee, alongside poor detention conditions, may constitute inhuman and degrading treatment,” Katzarova said. “Russian authorities must ensure she receives adequate medical care immediately.”
She stressed that article 275.1 of the Criminal Code is “vague and overly broad,” enabling the criminalisation of legitimate international cooperation and advocacy. “This repressive law must be repealed,” she said.
“Maria Bontsler must be released immediately, and all charges dropped,” the expert said. “Her case exemplifies the escalating repression of lawyers and human rights defenders in Russia. Since yesterday, in different regions, law enforcement have undertaken searches and arrests of journalists and human rights defenders. This attack on civil society should end.”
The Special Rapporteur has addressed the Government on this case.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/russia-must-release-ill-lawyer-maria-bontsler-detained-retaliation-human