Press Release, 16.07.2026

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

On 15 July, three witnesses for the prosecution have been questioned at the Pskov City Court in the consolidated criminal case against Lev Shlosberg, Deputy Chairman of Yabloko. It should be noted that from 13 to 31 July, hearings in the politician’s case are being held daily (except at weekends). At previous hearings, Lev Shlosberg had filed a motion to recuse the judge and the prosecution, and then, after the motion was denied, the prosecution moved on to presenting its evidence (which turned out to include a wiretap recording of Lev Shlosberg).

Three prosecution witnesses were questioned in court. They turned out to be acquaintances of one another and participants in nationalistic “Russian Marches”, members of the so-called regional “territorial defence unit”, and serial “disinterested witnesses” two of whom had given absolutely identical evidence up to punctuation signs. Read the details of questioning of the witnesses here.

With the questioning of witnesses concluded. The judge had wanted to adjourn proceedings until 10:00 am on 16 July, but Shlosberg’s lawyer Vera Kovalchuk asked that no hearings be scheduled at all on 16 and 17 July, as she had other cases to attend to in Moscow. Moreover, the lawyer stressed, as a result of the daily hearings, Lev Shlosberg had already been denied exercise and fresh air, hot meals and showering for three days already:

– This is an inquisitorial process, a torture.

– Mind your language.

– I’ve expressed my view. Only someone in a pre-trial detention facility can understand that — it can’t be understood from this office.

The judge announced that the hearing would resume on 16 July at 14:30, and on the appointed day the hearing did resume.

On 16 July the prosecution had planned to question witness Darya Pavlova. As the witness failed to appear in court, the prosecution filed a motion for her earlier testimony to be read out.

Lev Shlosberg and his lawyer, Vladimir Danilov, opposed the motion. The judge took the defence’s position into account and denied the prosecution’s motion.

The prosecution stated that witness Mikhail Semenkov had been summoned to appear in court again on 17 July. The whereabouts of witness Vitaly Isakov are, according to the prosecution, still ‘being established’. Iskov, one of the lead candidates from Yabloko in the forthcoming parliamentary election, was a defence lawyer for Lev Shlosberg but was reduced by court to the status of a ‘witness’.

The prosecution asked for the hearing to be adjourned. The judge ruled that proceedings would resume on 17 July at 10:00 am and announced that the court would start examining the defence evidence on 20 July.

It should be noted that Lev Shlosberg’s lawyer asked the judge as daily hearings left Shlosberg without hot food and even a shower. The judge declined.

Timeline of hearings on the merits:

22 June. Lev Shlosberg’s defence demanded that the case be returned to the prosecutor’s office over defects in the bill of indictment.

2 July. Lev Shlosberg’s wife, Zhanna, became his lay defender in the consolidated case.

13 July. Hearings began being held daily. Lev Shlosberg filed motions to recuse the judge and the prosecutors. Also the defence applied to have the experts’ findings excluded. The prosecution presented the indictment.

14 July. The prosecution began presenting its evidence in Lev Shlosberg’s consolidated case.

15 July. Three prosecution witnesses were questioned in court.