Criminal case

• Ask to see the court order. In urgent cases a search can go ahead without one, with the court notified later (art. 165 pt 5 CPC).
• The law requires two attesting witnesses (arts 170, 182 CPC). You can ask for neighbours to be called; any refusal should go into the record.
• Call a lawyer straight away: you have the right to one, but the investigator does not have to wait for them to arrive.
• By law you do not have to give passwords (art. 51 of the Constitution). In practice a refusal is sometimes met with pressure, so decide with your lawyer how to handle it. Turn on encryption and a passcode lock in advance. During a search, do not hide or switch off devices in front of officers: it can make your situation worse.
• Human rights groups advise putting every violation into the comments on the record, asking for a full copy and watching that nothing is planted.

current as of 25 September 2026. More: First Department: what to do during a search (foreign agent); OVD-Info: my home is being searched (extremist)

• Now: a suspect can be held for up to 48 hours before a court decides on pre-trial measures. Human rights groups usually advise asking for your own lawyer at once and giving no statement before meeting them (art. 51 of the Constitution).
• Pre-trial measures range from a written undertaking not to leave and bans on certain actions to house arrest or a pre-trial detention centre (SIZO). The court's ruling can be appealed within 3 days.
• Next: the investigation usually takes months. Plea deals and confessions are often offered; discuss with a lawyer what a deal would actually give you before agreeing. A lighter sentence is not guaranteed.
• A verdict can be appealed within 15 days, then in cassation. To complain to the UN Human Rights Committee later you must go through every instance (see the note on international complaints).
• Where to turn: First Department, Memorial, the Institute for Law and Public Policy; about life in SIZO: Prison Lawyer; letters and parcels: Solidarity Zone. OVD-Info advises but no longer refers lawyers inside Russia.

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 25 September 2026. More: First Department: how to estimate a possible sentence (foreign agent); First Department: plea deals (foreign agent); OVD-Info: how to find and choose a lawyer (extremist)

• The ECHR only accepts complaints about violations before 16 September 2022. Russia doesn't currently comply with its judgments, but they put violations on record.
• For later violations there's the UN Human Rights Committee: you must go through four instances (first, appeal, two cassations), the filing deadline is 5 years, and registration takes about a year.
• In February 2026 the Supreme Court called the UN Committee's interim measures non-binding, but not its final decisions. Human rights groups say complaints are still worth filing.
• It's best to prepare with a lawyer from the start: violations must be raised in Russian courts first, or the UN may not consider them.
• Where to turn: Memorial, the Institute for Law and Public Policy, First Department.

Designations of organisations in this guide: 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 25 September 2026. More: OVD-Info: the ECHR now and the alternatives (extremist); First Department: the Supreme Court and UN Committee decisions (foreign agent)