During the investigation

Someone has been detained in Russia. The next 48 hours matter more than the trial.

In Russian criminal procedure the investigation is where a case is actually won or lost. By the time it reaches court, the evidence, the charge and the wording of the accusation are already fixed. We enter at the earliest possible moment — ideally before the first interview.

A defence lawyer admitted to the case from the moment of actual detention
Attendance at every interview, search, identification and expert examination
Challenging the grounds for pre-trial detention and applying for house arrest or bail
Consular notification and contact with the embassy
A written interpreter check — the case file must be served in a language your relative understands
Regular visits in the detention centre and a reliable line of communication with the family abroad

What happens in the first 48 hours

Under Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code the police may hold a suspect for 48 hours without a court order. Within that window an investigator must bring the person before a judge if they want to keep them in custody. The judge may extend the hearing by up to 72 hours at the request of either side, but the initial clock is 48 hours.

This is not a formality. The custody hearing sets the frame for everything that follows: whether your relative spends the investigation in a pre-trial detention centre — the SIZO — or at home under restrictions. A person in a SIZO is harder to defend. Access is limited, documents move slowly, and the pressure to cooperate is constant.

Article 49 of the Criminal Procedure Code gives the suspect the right to a defence lawyer from the moment of actual detention — not from the moment of formal charge. In practice this right is only real if someone exercises it immediately. A state-appointed lawyer will be provided, but they are assigned by the same authority that is investigating, they usually meet the client for the first time minutes before the interview, and they carry a large caseload.

The stage that decides the case. A lawyer must be in the room from the first interview — not after the file is already built.

What we do first

When a family contacts us, the sequence is fixed and it starts within the hour:

Locate the person. Which police department, which investigative body, which article of the Criminal Code. Until this is established nothing else can be done.
Enter the case. A lawyer files an order of appointment and is admitted to the file. From that moment the investigator cannot conduct an interview without us.
Meet the client alone. Meetings between a lawyer and a client are confidential and unlimited in number and duration under Article 18 of the Federal Law on Advocacy. No investigator may listen in.
Fix the position. Before any statement is given. A statement made in the first hours without a lawyer is the single most common cause of a conviction we are later asked to appeal.
Notify the consulate. See below — this is the family's right as much as the detainee's.

Consular access and the embassy

Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 gives a detained foreign national the right to have their consulate informed without delay, and the right to communicate with consular officers. Russia is a party to the Convention and the right is real — but it is exercised on request, and requests get lost.

A consulate cannot get anyone released, and it cannot act as a defence lawyer. What it can do is confirm the person is alive and where they are held, visit them, pass letters, help with translation of documents, and provide a list of local lawyers. For a family thousands of kilometres away, the consular channel is often the first proof that the situation is real and being handled.

We notify the consulate ourselves and keep the file of that correspondence. If the consulate has already been in touch with you, tell us — it saves days.

The interpreter is not optional

Article 18 of the Criminal Procedure Code says proceedings are conducted in Russian, and a participant who does not have sufficient command of the language has the right to make statements, file motions and study the file in their native language or a language they know, with the free assistance of an interpreter. Free means free: the cost is borne by the state, never by the accused.

Documents that must be served on the accused — the charge, the indictment, the verdict — must be translated. In practice the quality of court interpretation varies enormously, and a bad interpreter is a defence problem, not a language problem: a mistranslated answer becomes evidence. We check the interpreter's competence early and object on the record when it is inadequate. An unaddressed interpretation failure is also a ground of appeal.

Pre-trial detention and how long it can last

Detention on remand is authorised under Article 108 of the Criminal Procedure Code, initially for up to two months. Under Article 109 it can be extended to six months, then to twelve months for grave offences, and up to eighteen months for especially grave offences in cases of particular complexity. Beyond that, extensions are exceptional.

Foreign nationality is routinely used by investigators as an argument that the accused will abscond. It is an argument, not a rule. Ties to Russia, a fixed address, an employer's guarantee, surrendered travel documents, and a willingness to accept house arrest are all things that can be put before the court — but only if someone prepares them. We prepare them for every extension hearing rather than treating extension as inevitable.

What the family can and cannot do

Money, parcels and correspondence all go through a regulated system. Cash can be transferred to the detainee's personal account in the detention centre. Parcels are limited in weight and content and are inspected. Letters pass through censorship and can be delayed for weeks. Visits from relatives require the permission of the investigator or the court, and that permission is discretionary.

None of these restrictions apply to the defence lawyer. That is why, for most families abroad, the lawyer is not only the legal representative but the only stable channel of information about a person they cannot reach.

Frequently asked

Can I fly to Russia to be with my relative?

You can, subject to the usual visa rules, and many families do. But be clear about what it achieves: a relative cannot attend interviews, cannot see the case file, and cannot visit the detention centre without permission from the investigator or the court. Everything that has to be done in the first days is done by the lawyer. Coming in person matters most later — around the trial, and for visits once permission is granted.

A state lawyer has already been appointed. Is that enough?

It is enough to satisfy the law. Whether it is enough to defend the case is a different question. State-appointed lawyers are qualified advocates, but they are assigned through the same system that is prosecuting, they often meet the client minutes before the interview, and they carry heavy caseloads. A retained lawyer can be brought in at any stage and works alongside or in place of the appointed one.

Should my relative refuse to give evidence?

Article 51 of the Russian Constitution gives everyone the right not to testify against themselves or close relatives, and using it cannot be held against the accused. Whether to use it in a particular case is a tactical decision that depends on what the investigation already has. It should be made with a lawyer who has seen the material — never on advice given over the phone.

How quickly can you have someone in the room?

In Moscow and the Moscow region, usually within hours. In the regions it depends on where the person is held; we work across Russia and will tell you honestly what the realistic timing is rather than promising an hour we cannot keep.