In February 2024, amendments to the Federal Law "On State Secrets" came into force. They allow restricting the right to leave the Russian Federation for lawyers who are familiar with information of special importance or top-secret information, writes the human rights project "First Department"*.
Some lawyers who have become acquainted with top-secret information are summoned to the Ministry of Justice. They are handed notifications about the restriction of their right to leave the country for a certain period and are offered to surrender their passport; if this is not done, the document may be annulled.
However, the restriction on leaving the country for lawyers working on "treason" cases and with state secrets began even earlier. "First Department" knows that since October 2024, more than 200 people have faced this ban. State secrets are contained not only in "treason" cases but also in civil and general criminal cases. Due to changes in the law, lawyers working on them risk losing the right to leave Russia.
"The ability to restrict lawyers' right to leave the country violates the decision of the Constitutional Court, which indicated that the preservation of state secrets concerning lawyers should be guaranteed exclusively by a non-disclosure agreement," says lawyer Evgeny Smirnov. "The FSB uses these restrictions to intimidate and pressure lawyers, demanding they do not interfere with the investigation."
* Recognized in Russia as a "foreign agent".