March 3, 2026

Lawyer Maria Boncler to be Charged with Treason. Investigation Threatened to Escalate if She Did Not Inform on Colleague

Photo: Natalya Kholmanova / SOTAvision. Kaliningrad lawyer and human rights activist Maria Boncler is to be charged with "state treason" (Article 275 of the Criminal Code) in the coming days. Her son Vyacheslav Medkov told the "Slovo Zashchite" project about this. According to him, "investigators warned mom that the new charge under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 'State Treason' will be officially brought against her in the coming days." Currently, Boncler is in pre-trial detention on charges of transferring data on Russian security forces to foreign special services (Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code). It is not yet known whether Boncler will be tried on both charges or only on the charge of "state treason." "Slovo Zashchite" notes that the maximum penalty under Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code implies punishment of up to eight years in prison, and under Article 275 of the Criminal Code - up to 20 years in prison. As early as last year, the investigation threatened Boncler with reclassifying the charge to a more serious one if she did not give false testimony against her colleague. Maria Boncler is one of the few lawyers in Kaliningrad who defended political prisoners, including the severely ill Igor Baryshnikov, convicted of "fakes about the army." Security forces detained Boncler at the end of May, and then sent her to pre-trial detention in a case of transferring data on Russian security forces to foreign special services. In pre-trial detention, despite her chronic illnesses, she is systematically denied medical care, her access to drinking water and lawyers is restricted, and she is intentionally subjected to abuse. During one of the court hearings in October, Boncler had a hypertensive crisis, but an ambulance refused to come to her.