Kaliningrad Lawyer Accused of Aiding Foreign State, Claims Near-Death in Jail

A Kaliningrad lawyer who once defended Russians accused of secretly aiding foreign states now faces that same charge, and says she nearly died in jail

A lawyer in Kaliningrad who once represented defendants in politically sensitive cases has become one herself. Maria Bontsler was arrested in late May 2025 on accusations of secretly cooperating with a foreign state — the same kind of charge she once defended others against. She has since been held at Kaliningrad’s SIZO-1 pretrial detention center, where both she and her lawyer say she has come under pressure. Her defense attorney said on June 30, 2026, that Bontsler had nearly died in custod...