Russia is speeding up treason and espionage trials — courts are sentencing two people a day

Source: Meduza

Russian courts processed state security cases faster in 2026 and handed down sentences at a higher rate, according to Department One, a Russian human rights group that analyzed data from the first quarter of the year.

Courts received 143 cases under state security statutes in the first three months of 2026. Of those, 62 — 43% — were resolved before the quarter ended. The comparable figures for the same period in 2025 were lower: 125 cases filed, with only 32 resolved by quarter’s end, a resolution rate of 26%, or 1.7 times lower.

Courts handed down at least 107 verdicts in state security cases during the first quarter of 2026, convicting 110 people. March alone produced 48 verdicts — the highest monthly total in the entire period of observation.

Treason remained the primary charge, accounting for 90% of convictions. The average sentence was 15 years and five months.

January through March together comprised 55 working days. With 110 people convicted across that span, courts sentenced an average of two defendants every working day.

“Military courts have become the most overburdened in Russia, and to handle the flow of ‘terrorist’ cases, they are forced to plan their work carefully. In practice, this means that hearings are scheduled months in advance and each case is allotted a set amount of time — often just one session,” said Department One lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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Russia is speeding up treason and espionage trials — courts are sentencing two people a day

Which ones?

107 verdicts

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Russia is speeding up treason and espionage trials — courts are sentencing two people a day

Which ones?

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