A 65-year-old defense attorney says she nearly died in a Russian pretrial detention center. Now prosecutors want to imprison her for 15 years for treason.

A 65-year-old defense attorney, Maria Bontsler, claims she nearly died while imprisoned in a Russian pretrial detention facility. Now, prosecutors are seeking to convict her of treason and hand down a 15-year prison sentence. Ilya Sidorov, a lawyer who visited Bontsler, reported that prosecutors are also demanding restrictions on her movements and a 10,000 ruble fine.

Bontsler, known for defending individuals in political cases, has been in detention since late May 2025. Initially investigated for allegedly cooperating with a foreign state, her case was later upgraded to treason, which can carry a 20-year sentence. The charges allege that Bontsler was instructed to obtain information about law enforcement and security officers, "uncovering and investigating" criminal cases against people who had cooperated with an unfriendly state.

She is also accused of providing this information to the intelligence services of an unfriendly state. Bontsler has been diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease, which can cause her blood pressure to spike and put her at high risk of a stroke. In June 2026, her defense team stated that she had been on the brink of death while in detention due to mismanaged medication.