HRC63 side event “Lawyers Under Siege” in the Russian Federation: The need for sustained visibility and support
On 23 September, Lawyers for Lawyers, together with the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF), the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Law Society of England and Wales, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), organised a side event during the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council titled “Lawyers Under Siege: The Situation of Lawyers in the Russian Federation and in Exile.”
We present to your attention the transcript of the event.
Moderator (Tara Fiechter): Lawyers for lawyers is non-political foundation that, for the past forty years has worked to promote lawyers at risk, and promote the independence of the legal profession worldwide. Today’s event is co-organized by the Human Rights House Foundation, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the International Commission of Jurists, Lawyers’ Watch West Canada, and the Law Society of England and Wales. We are grateful for the support of the permanent missions of Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as the co-sponsorship of organizations, the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights, the Geneva Bar Association, the German Bar Association, the International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk, and the Union Internationale des Avocats, Institute for the Rule of Law. Our objectives today are threefold. First, we would like to shed a light on the alleged under escalating pressure, harassment, and prosecution faced by independent lawyers in the Russian Federation, and the impact this has on fair trial rights and access to justice, as well as the protection of human rights overall. Second, we are here to examine the situation of lawyers forced into exile because of their work and the increasing transnational repression they face. And third, we would like to identify concrete measures and share good practices that states, UN mechanisms, and the legal community can take to protect the independence of the legal profession. And we are privileged to have with us an exceptional panel, who will be able to speak in detail to these issues. Firstly, to my left, Mariana Kazarova, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Russian Federation. I don’t think you need any further introduction. We have two brilliant and brave Russian human rights lawyers, on my right, Ivan Pavlov from the First Department, and Vadim Prokhorov, with the International Association of Russian Advocates. And last, we’re also very pleased to have Dr. Roya Sanghi, on my left with us, here to speak and bring in a European Bar Association’s perspective as incoming chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Deutsche Anwaltverein. Before turning to our panelists, we will first hear from Baroness Helena Kennedy, Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute. We’ll set the scene through a pre-recorded video message. And before we play the video, just a very brief practical note: photos and videos are not permitted. Only Francesca here up front, your familiar face from Ibari, is authorized to take photos of the panel. And there’ll be time for interventions and questions towards the end. For those joining online, feel free to also share your comments and questions in the chats, and we can take those into account if time permits. With that, I invite Sandra to play the message. Thank you.
Tara Fiechter
Baroness Helena Kennedy (Video Message): Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues, and friends. First of all, I owe you a real apology. I can’t be with you in person in Geneva, and it’s because I’ve actually been involved in a case at the European Court of Human Rights, and I couldn’t — the logistics of getting to you in time were impossible. I want to say to you especially, Mariana, my friend, who brought this gathering together, and who’s doing such precious work, I really wanted to sit beside you today, and I’m sorry not to be there. Colleagues, we’ve gathered today to discuss the situation of lawyers in the Russian Federation. I’d like to reflect on the situation inside Russia, the Russian Federation, conscious that many lawyers were forced to exile due to judicial prosecution and persecution. As the director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, I want to be clear from the outset: this is not simply a question about the legal profession protecting its own. When lawyers are intimidated, prosecuted, disbarred, and prevented from effectively representing their clients, it’s the justice system itself that is weakened. It’s the rule of law that is undermined. It’s democracy that’s under attack. And when lawyers are targeted precisely because they are doing their professional duty, the message reaches far beyond the courtrooms. Defend your client too vigorously, challenge the authorities too effectively, and you too may become a target. The figures emerging will be recited to you in the course of these talks to you today, and they are alarming. So it’s a fundamental question: Who should decide whether a lawyer is entitled to practice — an independent legal profession, or the executive authorities? The answer matters because an independent bar is not a professional privilege for lawyers. It’s a safeguard for everyone. And this meeting today is an alarm call — an alarm call to lawyers everywhere. I have just a few brief messages that I wanted to… States should insist that lawyers be able to represent their clients without intimidation, that lawyer-client confidentiality be protected, and that disciplinary and licensing mechanisms cannot be used as instruments of retaliation. So those are the simple principles that I would ask us to abide by. A person cannot have a meaningful right to a fair trial if the lawyers defending that person is afraid to do their job. A society cannot have genuine access to justice if lawyers are having to choose between their professional duty to their client and their own safety. The lawyers we will hear from today are therefore not merely describing professional difficulties — they’re describing what happens when one of the essential safeguards of the rule of law comes under sustained pressure. Listen to them carefully. I pay tribute to all of them. We should document what is happening, and we should ensure that those who defend others do not stand alone, because defending the independence of lawyers is not about protecting lawyers, it’s about protecting the law, protecting the law from interference and protecting people from the abuse of power.
Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC
Mariana Katzarova (UN Special Rapporteur): First of all, thank you very much to the two lawyers, international organizations for gathering us here. They organized this event. I’m privileged to be part of this effort. We have been thinking about it for quite, quite a number of years, at least several years. I cannot agree more, and I’m absolutely echoing the powerful address to us by my old good friend, Baroness Helena Kennedy. She’s, maybe for me, she’s the best UK human rights advocate, apart from being a King’s Counsel and before that, Queen’s Counsel. She’s a true human rights defender, so she’s one of my heroes, and I regret she’s not beside me today. The Russian lawyers — I have been documenting for the past few years what I call in Russia, instead of rule of law, the rule of fear. And this rule of fear starts and ends with the persecution of the defenders, of the Russian defense lawyers. The lawyers are the final frontier, and this is why the Russian government is, in a way, preparing — and I’ll say strong words, but it’s metaphorical — the final solution for the legal profession and the Russian lawyers. My report to the Human Rights Council on Monday reflected how this rule of fear and the various methods through which the Russian government, in a system, in a program, in an institutionalized strategy, is exporting abroad in acts of transnational repression. It concerns the lawyers as well. I want to say that with us in Geneva are twenty-six Russian human rights defenders from inside the country and outside who came on my invitation with the support of international human rights organizations who brought them here to be with us, like every year in Geneva and in New York, the General Assembly. I intend, and I do already for three years, I invite the Russian civil society. Among them are the brave lawyers here with us, Vadim Prokhorov and Ivan Pavlov, but also there are lawyers who are representing inside the country and, obviously, I’m not going to say their names. They’re with us who are representing bravely the Ukrainian detainees, both prisoners of war and the civilian detainees who are tried in Russian courts, military courts, in closed trials. And these lawyers bravely came to us today to be in Geneva and to hear what the UN and the world have to say about their country and about the civil society. So thank you for your support for this event and for the Russian civil society. I will just say before I say a few words about the persecution, before I forget: please tell your capitals the lawyers need support, and it needs to be also financial, because the lawyers are the humanitarian — the Russian lawyers are the humanitarian aid workers, if you want, who are the only ones who could bring bandages, who could bring medicine to dying political prisoners in detention, but also to the Ukrainian detainees who are not allowed even the bandages for their wounds after the despicable torture that they have been subjected in Russian prisons. And the lawyers also have to take trains and somehow under really difficult circumstances get to the south of Russia, where the military courts in Rostov-on-Don are the machinery of trials against the Ukrainian detainees. They need our support through the exiled lawyers organization, and I welcome my mandate could identify for all of you these exiled organizations. Two of them are represented by Ivan Pavlov in Prague, the First Department, and Vadim Prokhorov in Strasbourg, the association of Russian lawyers. It’s a new organization that was set up, but also in Strasbourg the organization that Karina Moskalenko started a few years back. Now here with us are also lawyers from in exile, from Berlin, from other places, while their lawyers, the network of lawyers continues to work inside the country. This needs to be understood by funders, by governments, by the civil society abroad. The persecution, interference with the legal profession has intensified. Government identifies lawyers with their clients and criminalize ordinary defense work. And we’ll hear from Vadim Prokhorov because their lawyers are defending lawyer Maria Bonsler, who in March 2026, her charges against her in Kaliningrad were, and she’s in detention since May 2025, were reclassified as treason. Originally she was charged because she was representing a politically sensitive case, client. She was charged for confidential cooperation with a foreign organization or a foreign state, basically for defending a particular client. She has a serious chronic health condition. She spent a night on the floor, unconscious, and the Russian authorities are not giving her adequate medical care. They’re not releasing her from detention, although she’s really facing death in prison. In November 2025, Ivan Pavlov and Evgeny Smirnov, lawyers from the First Department, were charged with revealing state secrets, for transmitting what was called classified case materials to an expert preparing an opinion for the defense, for them as defense lawyers. Additional pressure includes the disbarment of lawyers living abroad for more than a year, including those forced into exile, and judicial interference in the self-governance of the bar, illustrated in April 26, when a district court in Moscow terminated the status of three lawyers despite the refusal of the Moscow Chamber of Advocates to do so. In January 26, lawyer Oleg Stepanov, who expressed anti-war position and left the country, was detained on his return on terrorism-related charges, and is currently held in Krasnodar. Of course, today we had a breakfast, chaired by the EU ambassador, which invited ambassadors from different other regions, not the European Union, and one of them from an African state asked: “But the judiciary, at least the judiciary could help protect the rule of law in a country. We know many examples where at least the courts could rule in a human rights way.” And of course, my answer was no, the judiciary is politicized, the judiciary is comprised of judges who don’t even react, don’t blink when torture victims are describing torture to them. They do not open investigations, they do not order the testimonies of victims to be examined. And of course, they are the ones that are putting a lot of pressure in front of the defense lawyers. To not have access, of course, the worst situation is for representing the Ukrainian POWs, Azov battalion as well. You know that most of the Ukrainian battalions have been already designated by the Russian state government as terrorist organizations. And the POWs are tried not for conduct as soldiers in participation in hostilities, they’re tried as civilians on charges ninety percent of terrorism, for which some of them receive up to life imprisonment. I will stop here and say, I’m not going to talk to you about the transnational repression bit of exporting this fear, but the lawyers are actually absolutely exposed abroad in exile, also to be targeted for transnational repression by the Russian state. And we need to watch it because the ones that are still defending the political prisoners and the Ukrainian detainees, they are closely watched by the Russian authorities. And we need to have a system by the international community, the EU, to begin with, because of the close proximity, that these people have to be taken out of the country at a very short notice. They need to have humanitarian visas in their back pocket just in case, because it’s a matter of hours to be detained. And I’ll end on something. The United States, thank God Mr. Elon Musk is no longer in charge of the DOGE department.
Ivan Pavlov: I am going to speak Russian, because my colleague and I, we have decided to use our own native language so that we could be heard by our colleagues who are still remaining in Russia and keeping the work in Russia. Thank you, Tara. Thank you all the organizers of this event for this opportunity to speak today. And of course, I would like to give my special thanks to Mariana Katzarova for her work, for the report she has prepared, which in fact demonstrates the scale of transnational repression by the Russian state that are taking place. The source of this repression is the Russian Federation. But today, we are going to talk about a group of people who find themselves quite literally inside this repressive machinery. We are talking about Russian lawyers. I have been asked the question: what is the point of lawyers in Russia if the law does not work anymore? Well, however absurd this might sound, it is because the law doesn’t work. The lawyers today are needed more than ever. I have spent many years defending people persecuted by the Russian state, persecuted for political reasons. As a lawyer, I’ve been practicing since 1995, and over these years, I have come to understand one very simple thing. When the state turns the law into an instrument of repression, the role of defense lawyers changes. The lawyer is no longer simply trying to win a case and get some legal result. They’re trying to save and preserve the individual they’re defending. Sometimes that involves things that are not legal at all. A lawyer may simply stand beside a client while the judge reads out a guilty, unlawful verdict. They could hold their hand. They could embrace them. They could give them a hanky when they cry. And they could say: you are not alone. Of course, this may not change the sentence, but it changes the way in which that individual experiences repression. And then there are very practical things a lawyer can do. A lawyer can seek access to medical care. They can arrange for medicines, parcels, and letters to reach a client. They can maintain contact with the client’s family. And most importantly, unlike almost anyone else, a lawyer in Russia still has the opportunity to visit a person behind bars on a regular basis. Within Russia’s repressive system, this becomes extraordinarily important, because once a person has been detained, they effectively find themselves in an information blackout. They are isolated from the outside world, and very often the lawyer is the only person from outside who can enter the space in which the state wants to leave that person one-to-one with the system. And there is something else. They are far less likely to torture someone in the presence of their lawyer, and this is one of the reasons why the Russian authorities have so consistently restricted lawyers’ access to their clients. This problem has also been documented by international human rights mechanisms. Materials produced by the UN Special Procedures describe cases in which lawyers have been denied access to detained clients, obstructed in obtaining access to case files, and subjected to other forms of interference. It sounds paradoxical, which I am going to explain. Today, a vast amount of repression in Russia takes place behind closed doors. We may not know what happened to a person during the first hours after their arrest. The public may not know what happened during a search. The public may not know how an investigator fabricated a case against a person. The public may not know what pressure was exerted on different witnesses — but the lawyer sees it all. The lawyer reads the documents. The lawyer speaks to the client. The lawyer is present during investigative procedures and court hearings. The lawyer registers violations, and that is why lawyers who today defend anti-war activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and political prisoners are becoming professional witnesses to what is happening. They bear witness. Their testimony may not be needed today, but it will be needed tomorrow — when Russian cases are going to be reviewed, when the rule of law is restored, when the facts surrounding the crimes that have been committed by the state are established. And when the question of accountability arises for those who today use the machinery of the state to persecute people on political motivation. That is why a lawyer must continue working even when they know that the court is unlikely to listen to them. They must leave a record. Written submissions for the defense, applications and motions, objections, comments on the court record, appeals and complaints, evidence — all of this must remain in the case file. Because today a judge may disregard it, but tomorrow another judge, another lawyer, another investigator, or perhaps a rehabilitation commission might open that file. And they must be able to see the case advanced by the defense in that file. They must be able to understand what happened. Because the repressive system relies not only on fear — it also relies on the assumption that when it is gone, no record will remain. Whereas the lawyer leaves a documentary trail, a record, and that record may one day provide the basis for restoring justice. And there is another reason to continue practicing as a lawyer in Russia. Even in the most closed system, from time to time, windows of opportunity open. Sometimes a new case law emerges. Sometimes the position of a particular court changes. Sometimes a procedural error creates an opportunity. Sometimes it becomes possible to secure medical treatment, obtain a change in pretrial restrictions, secure a person’s release, or at least improve their living conditions — and the lawyer has to be ready. And I would like to put it this way: a lawyer has to remain constantly alert and ready, like a tiger lying in wait. Because if just for a few minutes this window of opportunity opens up, the lawyer must be ready to make an immediate legal maneuver, a move, and use that opportunity for the benefit of their client. And this is precisely why lawyers are still needed in Russia today. And they are needed not only by their own clients — they are needed by those who are imprisoned today. They are needed by those who may find themselves there tomorrow. They are needed by Russian society, and yes, indeed, they are needed to preserve historical memory. Ultimately, they are needed for the future of Russia. I am deeply convinced that the Russian lawyers working on human rights, despite the enormous risks they face, continue to perform their professional duties honestly and conscientiously on anti-war cases, human rights cases. They are true heroes. They risk their careers. They risk their liberty. They risk the well-being and safety of their families. And I believe not only the legal profession, because an independent legal profession is only one of the elements of the kind of state that must one day replace the repressive state of fear. And I would like to conclude my presentation by thanking Mariana Katzarova. Her mandate for lawyers, for Russian lawyers, is of particular importance. International human rights mechanisms are critically important, precisely because inside Russia so many national domestic mechanisms for the protection of rights, frankly speaking, have ceased to function effectively. Mariana has consistently drawn attention to the situation of human rights defenders and lawyers, and to the obstacles faced by those providing legal defense. Her mandate also engages with other UN special procedures, including the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. And yet she is the only one who in virtually every report draws attention specifically to the problems faced by Russian lawyers. And for that, we are profoundly grateful. For lawyers, it matters enormously to know — particularly now — that their work is noticed, that their names do not disappear behind the walls of Russian courts and remand centers, that violations are being documented, that information is reaching the world beyond Russia, that one day all these documents will really matter inside Russia itself as well. Today, a lawyer is needed so that no individual is left alone with the system, so that repression has a witness. So that injustice leaves a documentary record, and so that when the law begins to function again, there would be someone who can open the files of these cases and say: this is what happened, and this is what we did, and these are the people who must be released and rehabilitated. Thank you.
Moderator: An impressive professional path. For more than two decades, he has defended prominent Russian opposition figures, politicians, anti-corruption activists, and human rights defenders. And Boris Nemtsov, Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza. He will tell you why lawyers should continue, lawyers should continue to carry out their professional activities, no matter what.
Vadim Prokhorov: Indeed, indeed, indeed. This is something very close to my heart. Transnational repression is something that have concerned me. I am literally the subject matter of transnational repression, including repression against lawyers themselves. Lefortovo, the regional district court of Moscow has recognized me or designated me a foreign agent in absentia and charged me with an administrative offense, and I have no doubt that criminal prosecution may follow as well. And this is exactly what many Russian lawyers, defense lawyers who had to leave the Russian Federation are reiterating. They are going to come face to face with the real threat, that they are going to be stripped of their lawyers’ status, and we are going to talk about it separately. I totally agree with my colleague Ivan Pavlov in that the role of lawyers in recent times has only increased, and the importance has increased. Yes, indeed, our heroic colleagues who are remaining in the Russian Federation, who are honestly, conscientiously, and professionally performing their duties, we cannot secure a positive sentence, but as it has already been said, you can secure the survival of your clients. Ukrainian political and civilian detainees also reduces the application of torture to these people. It is the access of the Russian lawyers with the human rights background allows us to fight for their survival, the survival of their clients. And here I agree totally with Helena Kennedy, who said at the very beginning, it is the matter not just of the rights of the lawyers themselves, but it is the matter of the rights of those who they defend. Unfortunately, it’s important to know that alongside the role, which has increased, the risks have increased as well, and there are quite well-known cases, but we do not tire to remind about them, trying to draw the attention of the world community to the situation of our colleagues who are persecuted in the Russian Federation. On the 13th of October, 2023, just by way of example, as we know, on the same day, almost all Alexei Navalny’s lawyers were taken into custody. Alexei Liptser, Vadim Kobzev, and Igor Sergunin. They were arrested. Olga Mikhailova and Alexander Fedulov were not in Russia at the time, so they were charged in absentia, and they were all sentenced to lengthy prison terms. For example, Alexey Lipser and Vadim Kobzev still remain in custody in the Russian Federation. The only reason to criminally charge them was their professional work. I have already… We have already mentioned the dreadful situation with our colleague Maria Bonsleer, who is sixty-six years old and is a respected representative of the legal profession. She lives in the Kaliningrad region. She is well known outside the Kaliningrad region. In fact, she lives in the former Eastern Prussia, incorporated into the Soviet Union after, into the Russian Federation. In fact, she is an ethnic German. She is a descendant of the people who lived in Eastern Prussia well before it became part of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. And now Maria Bontsler is currently held in custody in Kaliningrad. And in fact, they used the worst article of the Russian criminal code, article two hundred and seventy-five. Maria Bontsler was deprived of any assistance by her lawyers. All of them have been banned from acting as her defense counsel. Last Thursday, Judge Maruchkin, as far as we know, ordered that Maria Bontsler herself to be removed from the courtroom until the close of the party's final submissions. And so both her defense lawyer and Maria Bontsler were removed from the courtroom because she faints on a regular basis during the way she's transported in overcrowded prison vans and in the courtroom itself. And they just didn't want to draw attention of the public to this fact, decided to remove her from the courtroom. And why is she being criminally charged? Because she conscientiously carried out her professional duties. She's charged with communication with the relatives of her defendant, who, as it turned out, those relatives still live in Ukraine. Will demonstrate any honest lawyer anywhere in any country of the world who would not communicate with the relatives of their client. So this is basically the charge against her. And this is happening in the Kaliningrad region. We could say it's the geographical heart of Europe. It's happening now, as we speak. Her life is at risk, at constant risk. Unfortunately, these examples are not limited to Maria. There is another case of Dmitry Talantov, a leader of the legal profession in Udmurtia and the president of the Udmurtia Republic Bar Chamber. In the past, of course, he was arrested and remanded in custody in June twenty-two. He was sentenced to a lengthy prison term under the so-called fake news about the war provision, which concerns statements about the conduct of the Russian armed forces in the occupied Ukrainian territories. And now he is in custody. He faces a lengthy prison term. And in fact, the European community awarded him the Ludovic Tarieaux International Human Rights Prize. It is one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious awards for lawyers who defend human rights and the rule of law, and yet is not helping him. He is still a political prisoner. He is a lawyer, a political prisoner on the territory of the Russian Federation. This summer is another example. Just recently, this is a very recent case, a well-known Volgograd lawyer, Roman Melnichenko, was detained and has been held in custody under article 280.3, similar to the previous one. Charged with discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation, an offense carrying a possible sentence of up to five years imprisonment. These are just a few examples. Unfortunately, we do not limit ourselves to what is happening in Russia now, and it's not necessarily criminal prosecution, which is the only problem facing Russian human rights lawyers. As I've already mentioned recently, we have had new norms adopted in Russian legislation, and one of the new norms concerns lawyers who have been living outside the Russian Federation for over one year. This is a striking example of the transnational repression, because they can be stripped of their status, and we now have the first precedents when the courts have decided to strip lawyers living outside Russia of their status. And in conclusion, I would like to say two years ago, a group of Russian lawyers in Strasbourg founded the International Association of Russian Lawyers under the leadership of the outstanding Russian lawyer, Karina Moskalenko, and we think that helping lawyers with relocation, humanitarian visas, preserving their professional status is one of the main objectives of our association and we continue this cooperation in the future.
Dr. Roya Sangi: Thank you very much for having me here. Actually, I’m very happy to be here just to listen and to be connected with the colleagues reporting from Russia. And as my colleagues here just identified, the priorities for the international legal community are visibility, protection, independence, and exercising bravery. Today we are talking about the situation in Russia, but it’s not only about Russia and Russian colleagues. To my regret, the days of certainty regarding democracy and the rule of law, even in the liberal democratic Western society, are over. We see also in Germany the rise of extremist, authoritarian parties, witnessing that they question the fundamental principles of rule of law. So, as lawyers, we cannot be silent. It concerns us if there is no rule of law in Russia, if they don’t face fair proceedings. So from the perspective of the lawyers in the European community, we want to be connected and we want to listen — not only to transmit the message that the Russian colleagues are not alone. We see and observe the trials, we talk about it, we meet the Russian colleagues in Berlin, and we try to invite the colleagues to our gatherings, at our Deutsche Anwaltsverein annual gathering this year. And we want to be their voice, but on the other hand, we want to learn from them, because it is important to see how you could react as a lawyer if there is no rule of law and if the rule of law is attacked by the government. Last year we invited American colleagues to talk about attacks on judiciary and lawyers and law firms in the United States. And they told us they wish to have a community which is connected to protect themselves against the Trump administration. And what I learned from these talks is: exercising bravery is now requested, and we need to learn from the stories and the reports which we hear from Russian colleagues, and we need to ask them what they need. Sometimes these are practical problems. We have met lawyers in exile who asked to have possibilities to do research — so it is a financial problem. It is a question of access to offices, access to research possibilities. And that is what we can provide if we keep together and we keep protecting the colleagues who are now in exile. And I’m happy to be part of this community and discuss and listen and try to give the colleagues in Russia and everywhere in the world where the lawyers are under attack the protection they need. Thank you.
Francesca Restifo, IBAHRI: A few just points that I would like to reiterate that are, I think, are important, first of all, on the bar associations, and in this case, the federal bar association, were in, which is not independent. It is an arm of the executive, of the executive branch, an arm of repression. So it has been instrumentalized to support and attack the legal professions. I can make a number of also personal interactions that I try to have with them when the three lawyers of Navalny were jailed, and their replies were terrible. Second, on bar associations, I want to say that they, as Elena mentioned, they are not, let’s say, association lobby or just rotary clubs for lawyers. They are self-governing bodies. They are there to protect and safeguard lawyers and the members, and that they are the first kind of alarm when these kind of patterns occurs, attacks against lawyers occurs. What we, third one, what we heard from Ivan and Vadim is when in Russia, but as also Roya mentioned in other countries, when lawyers are targeted precisely because you are performing your professional duties, the message reaches out far beyond the courtroom. If you defend your client too vigorously, if you challenge injustices too effectively, then it means that you will be the next target. But as Ivan mentioned, lawyers, I think even this is a very good message. I will take it really as a personal also takeaway. A lawyer is a witness, maybe not for now, but for future proceedings. You are the guardian of the evidence of the atrocities and crimes under international law that are committed in your country. So just one message about lawyers in exile and the role of bar associations. I think Mariana very clearly mentioned how much it is important that lawyers are supported, that they must not only with the humanitarian and protection, international protection, but also financial support, practical support, facilities, because they are precious resources to bring from outside the country to bring justice inside the country. And I know many countries are making efforts in advancing this, but there is really a lot of work still to be done. They are incredibly… we’ve seen articulated, they create legal teams for their fellow lawyers inside the country where they cannot operate, so we should ensure that they are equipped to bring about justice. And these bar associations can help. I know the German, the other bar associations, they do all they can to support financially, legally these lawyers, but yeah, it’s just like a call to understand the precious role of lawyers outside the country.
Question (Matthew Jones): Question in case there’s time. For delegations who have representation in Moscow or elsewhere in the Russian Federation, is it possible to attend court proceedings? If it’s possible, is it desirable? And if it’s possible and desirable, how would they be informed ahead of time of such proceedings? Thank you.
Moderator (Tara Fiechter): Thanks very much for this clear question. I’m gonna go back to our Russian lawyers first. Please stay within thirty seconds to one minute for a response to either of the comments and the question by Matthew, and then we’ll go and conclude with Marianna.
Ivan Pavlov: I would like to say the following. The most important resource for those who have left and are staying abroad is their connection to those who remain in the country. We are forming two contours of the resistance against this criminal regime and all the crimes that are being committed inside the country — with their outside contour, their outside profile. We are living and we have access to these platforms, and we can defend those who are still remaining in the country. They are the internal contour of resistance. And those two profiles of resistance should be together. They should be interacting and engaging with each other. And this is exactly what is happening today, and thanks to that engagement and interaction, those human rights projects that have had to function outside Russia are still functioning largely thanks to this connection with the lawyers who remain inside Russia.
Vadim Prokhorov: Yes, just in continuation to what Ivan has said. Yes, indeed. Yes, our lawyer communities all over the world have not just been the basis of civil society, but have always shown how we close ranks and we support each other, not just inside Russia, but in exile, through our international contacts and our support. And this solidarity, these ranks should be implemented and put into action in order to help those who are facing problems that were described in Mariana’s report. So I think this engagement and solidarity will continue.
Moderator: In brief, concluding words.
Mariana Katzarova: We’re dealing with a country that just sentenced the prosecutor and eight judges of the International Criminal Court, a government that opened and put them on international wanted lists. This is the country, this is the type of understanding for justice that this government of the Russian Federation has. Our colleague from the Bar Association, Vadim, just a minute ago mentioned what is needed: visibility, protection, exercising bravery. I want to add and to continue the thought of Vadim: what we need is solidarity in support and the solidarity in resistance. All around the world, by those who know and are learning how to resist, the lawyers are on the forefront. Tomorrow, when we are asked, “Where have you been in 2026? Who have you managed to protect?”, I want to turn back and say: the Russian lawyers, because they could spread the protection to thousands and millions of Russian people and the people of the world. Thank you.
Moderator: Thanks very much for attending.
Across the interventions, three priorities emerged:
Visibility and documentation: Sustained documentation of violations is essential. Silence creates isolation while documentation creates accountability. Lawyers in Russia today play an essential role as witnesses of grave human rights violations, making their work ever more important. International human rights mechanisms must continue to receive and act on information about lawyers at risk.
Protection and support for exiled lawyers: Exiled lawyers need more than nominal protection. Concrete measures – such as humanitarian visas, emergency assistance, and safe relocation pathways – are essential to their safety.
Independence of the legal profession: States must insist that lawyers be able to represent clients without intimidation as a central element of the rule of law; that lawyer‑client confidentiality be protected; and that disciplinary and licensing mechanisms not be used as instruments of retaliation. Bar associations and host governments should make efforts to integrate exiled lawyers into local legal communities by offering access to resources, training, and professional opportunities. (https://www.lawyersforlawyers.org/hrc63-side-event-lawyers-under-siege-in-the-russian-federation-the-need-for-sustained-visibility-and-support/).
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Параллельное мероприятие HRC63 “Адвокаты в осаде” в Российской Федерации: необходимость постоянного освещения и поддержки
HRC63 side event “Lawyers Under Siege” in the Russian Federation: The need for sustained visibility and support
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