On the evening of April 14, Richard was on his way to pick up his wife from work. But they didn’t get a chance to meet: they were both brutally detained almost at the same time by the Federal Security Service. According to Richard, at the police station they were threatening to beat up Maria and take away their 6-year-old son.

On the night of April 15, the man was taken to the investigative committee, where he learned about the criminal charges against him. What triggered the criminal investigation was a short video showing the events in Bucha that Richard had posted a few days earlier. On April 15, Richard was sent to Detention Center 1 for the City of Kirov, where he is currently awaiting trial. Richard is being subjected to psychological pressure and is being asked to refuse the services of his lawyer Inna Kosheleva in favour of a state-appointed lawyer.

The law enforcement officers weren’t too courteous with Maria either. The woman was detained on the evening of April 14 in the street, where she was distributing advertising flyers. According to Maria, during the interrogation the FSS officers were rude, they were yelling and swearing at her. Just like Richard, Maria was accused of publishing “fake videos”. At the moment the woman is prohibited from certain actions and activities (she is not allowed to use the internet, leave the house after 8:00 pm, etc.).

In the past, Richard has already been fined for taking part in political protests, and in 2021 he was invited for a “prophylactic conversation” to the Center for Combating Extremism known as “Center E” (a semi-independent unit within the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs). But Maria has faced the repressive system for the first time.

Richard and Maria each face up to 10 years in prison under article 207.3, part 2, sub-paragraph d: “dissemination of false information motivated by hatred”. The investigation will continue until August. Until that time, the couple can only rely on help from their friends and family.

Right now Maria has no permanent job, a child, and a husband under arrest. She is being threatened with termination of her parental rights and a forced psychiatric evaluation. On top of everything else, her husband has an untreated traumatic brain injury, because of which he suffers from bad tremors. Remaining in the detention center may be detrimental to the man’s health.

The Roses are being helped by their friends: They bring food and collect small sums of money for parcels and legal services. However, this money may not be enough to see the case through and pay millions of roubles in fines (that is, if the couple is not sentenced to time in prison by the court).

"Memorial"* recognized Richard and Mary as a political prisoners.