Press Release, 30.04.2026

Photo: Lev Shlosberg in court /Photo by the Pskov Yabloko Press Service

On 29 April, a judge of the Pskov City Court partially granted an application by the investigation to impose a deadline on Lev Shlosberg and his two defence lawyers for reading the case materials. The investigator had requested that the review be completed by 4 May.

The investigator stated that the investigation had concluded on 14 April and that “the defendant and his defence lawyers were abusing their right to review the criminal case materials”. The investigation deemed the following to constitute abuse: Lev Shlosberg’s relatives visits, the politician’s participation in hearings on the “foreign agent label” criminal case on 17 and 22 April and his preparation for those hearings, and the defence lawyers’ involvement in other court proceedings. The investogator acknowledged, however, that on 18, 19, 25, and 26 April he had not visited the remand centre with the documents, as those were days off. It should be noted that the Code of Criminal Procedure permits the imposition of a deadline for reviewing case materials only by court order and only where the review is being manifestly delayed.

The prosecutor said that the investigator’s application was “not without foundation” and that “there are signs of delay,” but proposed extending the deadline to 7 May.

Lev Shlosberg participated in the hearing in person. He requested that the deadline be set at 8 May, noting that he and his defence lawyers had decided to review the case materials separately, which already took the interests of the investigation into account.

Shlosberg explained to the court that he was only able to study the materials in a dedicated room for three hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the afternoon, in accordance with the remand centre’s schedule, and that on any given day unscheduled activities might take place at the facility, making it impossible to review the case. He also noted that photographing or copying documents at the remand centre was not possible.

The consolidated criminal case against Lev Shlosberg comprises eight volumes, with appendices in the form of discs. At the time of the hearing, the politician had reviewed three volumes and was partway through the fourth. His defence lawyers had each also reviewed three volumes.

Friends, colleagues, and supporters of Lev Shlosberg travelled to court to show their support for him.

On 3 December, a third criminal case was opened against Lev Shlosberg, Deputy Chairman of Yabloko, under Article 207.3 Part 2 of the Criminal Code (the so-called “fake news about the army” provision), in connection with a repost made to a Telegram channel in February 2022. The relevant article was not added to the Criminal Code until March 2022. Shlosberg has stated that the date of the alleged “offence” with which he is charged had been falsified in the materials of the third criminal case.

On 8 December, the maximum permissible period of house arrest — six months — under the second criminal case, concerning “repeated discrediting of the army,” was due to expire. No provision exists in law for extending that period. The second and third cases were subsequently consolidated in one. The politician has not admitted guilt on any of the counts of the charge.