“Cooperation with an unfriendly state”. Kaliningrad human rights lawyer Maria Bonzler, 64, charged with working “against security of Russia”
Maria Bonzler in court. Photo: Kaliningrad Regional Court press service Maria Bonzler, a prominent human rights lawyer in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, was placed in pre-trial detention accused of “confidential cooperation with a foreign state”. This serious charge, introduced to the Criminal Code in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is, in essence, a “treason-lite” offence punishable by three to eight years’ imprisonment.