Atlas of Free Expression
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Yesterday
Automated media monitoringMachine-translated from Russian
The Kaliningrad Regional Court sentenced lawyer Maria Bontsler to 12 years' imprisonment on a charge of high treason. According to the FSB, she passed information about her clients to foreign intelligence services. It is noted that Bontsler did not admit guilt. Articles: Art. 275 (high treason).
Automated media monitoringMachine-translated from Russian
Kaliningrad lawyer Maria Bontsler was convicted in a state treason case. According to the FSB, she passed information about her clients to foreign intelligence services. The Kaliningrad Regional Court sentenced 66-year-old lawyer Maria Bontsler to 12 years of imprisonment on charges of state treason. Articles: Art. 275 (high treason).
Automated media monitoringMachine-translated from Russian
Alexei Petrov, an activist accused in terrorism and high treason cases, suffered rib fractures during transfer from Kamchatka Krai to Moscow. From 22 October to 9 November he was in transit at pretrial detention center No. 1 in Irkutsk, where his medications were confiscated and his head was forcibly shaved. This is reported by RusNews, citing Petrov's letter and his wife's account. Articles: Art. 275 (high treason).
Automated media monitoringMachine-translated from Russian
Novosibirsk communist Sergei Krupenko is suspected of repeated "discreditation" of the Russian army, but the investigation has still not explained which of his words it considers a crime. The case was opened on 17 June 2026, but Krupenko himself only learned about it now, and the occasion was his speech at an approved May Day rally in a Novosibirsk public garden. According to the text, at the interrogation Krupenko stated that he did not understand "what exactly he is suspected of," and his lawyer drew attention to the fact that from the decision to open the case it is impossible to understand which words the investigation considers "discreditation" of the army. Articles: Art. 280.3 (discrediting the army).
11 November 2026
Automated media monitoringMachine-translated from Russian
On 9 November, Galina Bekhter, who is serving her sentence in penal colony No. 1 in Vologda, was urgently hospitalised in interregional prison hospital No. 10. According to the administration, the pensioner "has completely stopped eating," lawyer Irina Biryukova, who visited her in the hospital, reported this. According to Biryukova, the doctors have not yet made a diagnosis, and over the next two weeks they, together with psychiatrists, will study the medical documents and talk with Bekhter to establish the cause of her condition. Articles: Art. 275 (high treason).
News
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