A family member is charged over donations: what the family can do

• First find out the article and the dates. Ask the lawyer to check the decision to charge: which transfers are charged and under which article. The law in force at the moment of the transfer applies (art. 9 CC). According to OVD-Info, an FBK donation from August 2021 to 11 February 2026 falls under art. 282.3 (up to 8 years, usually a fine). Art. 205.1 (8-15 years) applies to donations after 12 February 2026.
• If 8-15 years is sought for an old donation, ask the lawyer why. In known cases terms of 10-16 years came when, besides FBK, there were transfers to the Ukrainian army, the 'Freedom of Russia' legion, or Stars to channels designated 'terrorist'. Transfers to Ukrainian funds are tried as treason (art. 275, from 12 years). The law does not allow a new designation to apply retroactively, but no one can guarantee the outcome.
• Where and how the trial happens. Art. 205.1 cases are heard by a district military court, three judges, no jury, and hearings can be closed. There is no simplified procedure; a term below the minimum or a suspended sentence is not allowed (arts. 64, 73 CC). Art. 282.3 cases go to a district court. Per Mediazona, 114 of 167 verdicts over FBK donations were fines.
• Money and the flat. The accused is put on the Rosfinmonitoring list and his accounts are frozen. His wife's and children's accounts are not frozen under the list, but a court may arrest them in the criminal case if investigators treat the money as joint: this is how the accounts of Boris Akunin's wife were arrested. Arrest of a flat in the case secures a fine; it is not a seizure. A sole home without a mortgage may not be arrested (art. 115 part 4 CPC); the wife's half answers only for her own debts (art. 45 Family Code). We found no confiscation of donors' flats.
• The wife in Russia. She may be called as a witness. She must attend when summoned, but may refuse to testify against her husband (art. 51 of the Constitution, art. 56 CPC). Anyone can hand in a parcel at the detention centre; the limit is 30 kg a month in total. Letters are censored: do not write about the case.
• The daughter and friends abroad. Relatives may hire and pay a lawyer (art. 50 CPC). Pay the lawyer directly, not into a frozen account. Do not donate to FBK yourself or fundraise for the defence under its brand. Discuss publicity with the accused and the lawyer first: sometimes it harms the case. Before travelling to Russia, read 'I want to visit Russia'.
• Who can help. First Department (a 'foreign agent') handles financing cases and the list. Memorial Political Prisoners Support recognises people convicted over FBK donations as political prisoners ('extremist' in Russia; write from a device that cannot be seized). Psychologists for the family: First Line. This is not legal advice.
• Helping a political prisoner's family can also lead to a case. In 2021 a pensioner in Ufa received a three-year suspended sentence under Article 282.3(1) for 6,000 roubles sent to a political prisoner's mother's card: investigators called it financing his 'extremist activity'.
• Beware of scams: prisoners' relatives are being sold 'insurance against torture' in prison colonies (a one-off fee of about 8,000 roubles, 'support' of up to 15,000 a month). A lawyer at Team Against Torture explains that such 'insurance' could only pay out after a court verdict in a torture case, so the 'policy' protects no one; seek help from rights groups that work free of charge.

Designations of organisations in this guide: OVD-Info (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre (extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); Memorial Political Prisoners Support (extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.

current as of 7 October 2026. More: Criminal Code art. 9 (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); Criminal Code art. 205.1 (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); Criminal Code art. 282.3 (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); Criminal Procedure Code art. 31 (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); Criminal Procedure Code art. 115 (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); Criminal Procedure Code art. 56 (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); Criminal Procedure Code art. 50 (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); OVD-Info: FBK donations (updated 25.08.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent, extremist, on the Rosfinmonitoring list); OVD-Info: parcels to detention and prison (updated 21.09.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent, extremist, on the Rosfinmonitoring list); Mediazona: 225 cases over FBK donations (21.04.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent); Mediazona: 8 years for Stars, closed military court (23.09.2026, in Russian) (foreign agent); First Department: transfers to Ukraine, 2025 (in Russian) (foreign agent); First Department: support groups and publicity (in Russian) (foreign agent); Memorial: new political prisoners in FBK donation cases (web.archive.org copy, 11.03.2026, in Russian) (extremist, on the Rosfinmonitoring list); OVD-Info: pensioner given suspended sentence over transfers to a political prisoner's mother (06.09.2021, in Russian) (foreign agent, extremist, on Rosfinmonitoring list); Echo: 'insurance against torture' in prison colonies is a scam (13.05.2026, in Russian)