Politics · Russia · 5 hrs ago
Russian investigators cite VPN use in arguments for pretrial detention
Russian investigators are increasingly citing VPNs and disappearing messages when asking courts to hold suspects in pretrial detention.
Human rights council member Eva Merkacheva said courts have seen these tools described as ways to conceal activity, alongside hidden contacts and encrypted communications.
Investigators have traditionally pointed to the seriousness of an alleged crime, the risk of flight or the possibility of pressure on witnesses.
Experts say using these tools alone is not a legal ground for detention, though investigators can present them as evidence that a suspect might obstruct an investigation.
A separate law already treats VPN use in committing a crime as an aggravating factor in sentencing, while the Investigative Committee has also proposed tougher penalties for some crimes involving digital technology.
The shift matters because ordinary privacy features may be treated as signs of concealment; no further legal change or next step is specified.
Russian investigators are citing VPN use, disappearing messages and hidden contacts as signs of “conspiracy” when seeking pretrial detention, according to human rights council member Eva Merkacheva.
The reported arguments say these tools could help suspects obstruct investigations.
Merkacheva said this was a new development and a signal to society.
Experts cited by CNews said VPN use or disappearing messages alone are not grounds for pretrial detention under the law.
The reports describe a case in which a Moscow doctor was detained, with the court also considering investigators’ arguments about the use of concealment tools.
- Who
- Russian investigators are citing digital tools in detention requests; human rights council member Eva Merkacheva described the practice.
- What
- VPN use and features such as disappearing messages are being presented as signs of “conspiracy” in arguments for pretrial detention.
- When
- Merkacheva discussed the practice on October 27, 2026.
- Where
- Russia.
- Why
- Investigators argue these tools could help suspects obstruct investigations.
Investigators
Eva Merkacheva
Use of digital tools
Investigators
VPNs, disappearing messages and hidden contacts are cited as signs of “conspiracy” that could obstruct investigations.
Eva Merkacheva
These features may be used for ordinary reasons and can be interpreted as signs of “conspiracy”; Merkacheva called the practice a new signal to society.
Vladimir Putin signed a law making the use of certain means to access restricted information resources an aggravating circumstance when committing crimes.
Communications Minister Maksut Shadayev said officials were working to reduce VPN use and described administrative penalties for using VPNs as an option they did not like.
Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin said a bill was being prepared to increase penalties for crimes committed using information technology, artificial intelligence, VPNs and proxy servers.
Eva Merkacheva told Fontanka that investigators had begun citing VPN use and disappearing messages as methods of “conspiracy” in detention requests.
CNews reported that courts were considering VPN use and disappearing messages as signs of “conspiracy” when deciding whether to send suspects to pretrial detention.
- Reported by
- CNews.ru, Dozhd and Fontanka.ru
- Date of Merkacheva’s remarks
- October 27, 2026
- Tools cited
- VPNs, disappearing messages and hidden contacts
- Example case
- A Moscow doctor suspected of justifying terrorism over a 2022 publication
- Law signed
- July 2025; VPN-related access to restricted resources can be an aggravating circumstance when a crime is committed
3 sources
What people are saying
Now this has appeared. The idea that VPN use, disappearing messages and hidden contacts are seen as methods of conspiracy is not just something new, but also a signal to society.