Questions families ask

The police may hold a suspect for 48 hours without a court order. Within that window a judge decides whether to remand them in custody, place them under house arrest, or release them under other restrictions. That hearing sets the frame for the whole case, and material supporting an alternative to custody has to be put before the judge by someone.

Through the investigative body, through the consulate, or through a lawyer who can make the enquiries formally. The city plus the person's full name and date of birth is usually enough for us to establish it.

Yes — a state-appointed advocate must be provided. They are qualified, but they are assigned through the same system that is prosecuting, they often meet the client minutes before the first interview, and they carry heavy caseloads. A retained lawyer may be instructed at any stage.

Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations gives that right, but it is exercised on request and requests get lost. We notify the consulate ourselves and keep the correspondence on file.

Yes, compulsorily and free of charge, under Article 18 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Documents that must be served on the accused — the charge, the indictment, the verdict — must be translated. The quality varies, and inadequate interpretation is both a defence problem and a ground of appeal.

Visits by relatives to someone held in a pre-trial detention centre require the permission of the investigator or the court, and that permission is discretionary. The defence lawyer's access is not restricted in this way.

Money can be transferred to the detainee's personal account in the facility. Parcels are limited in weight and content and are inspected. Letters pass through censorship and can be delayed for weeks.

Many families do, and there is nothing wrong with it — but be clear about what it achieves. A relative cannot attend interviews, cannot see the case file, and cannot visit without permission. Everything that must be done in the first days is done by the lawyer.

Initially up to two months, extendable to six, then to twelve months for grave offences and up to eighteen for especially grave offences in complex cases. Each extension is a hearing, and each is an opportunity to argue for an alternative — which is why they should not be treated as automatic.

Low. Full acquittals in Russian criminal courts are in the low single digits of a percent, and we will not pretend otherwise. What is realistically achievable is reclassification to a lesser charge, exclusion of unproven episodes, a sentence below the statutory minimum under Article 64, a suspended sentence under Article 73, or termination on non-rehabilitating grounds.

No. There are 15 days to appeal, and after the verdict enters into force there is a six-month window for continuous cassation, then the Supreme Court, and a complaint to its Chairman. If a sentence is already being served, parole and commutation under Article 80 are separate routes.

No. Russia ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 16 September 2022, and the Court has no jurisdiction over events after that date. Families are still being told otherwise; any strategy relying on Strasbourg is built on something that no longer exists.

A foreign national convicted of a criminal offence will normally face administrative removal from Russia and a re-entry ban. That is a separate administrative process with its own deadlines and it should be prepared for before release, not discovered at the gate.

Correspondence with the family, written case updates and consultations are in English. Some of our lawyers speak English directly; others work through an interpreter. The proceedings themselves are in Russian with a compulsory interpreter regardless of who defends the case.

It depends on the charge, the stage and the volume of the case file, and we quote after we have understood the case rather than before. Payment arrangements are discussed at the first consultation.

Yes. Legal professional privilege under Article 8 of the Federal Law on Advocacy covers everything a client tells an advocate, and advocates cannot be questioned about it. It applies to the initial enquiry as well, whether or not you go on to instruct us.

Yes, and it is a large part of our work — particularly at appeal and cassation after an unsuccessful first-instance defence. We will need the verdict and, where there has been one, the appeal decision.

We answer enquiries around the clock. In Moscow and the Moscow region a lawyer can usually reach a detained person within hours; in the regions it depends on where they are held, and we will tell you honestly what is realistic.