Merkacheva told the outlet Fontanka that she had reviewed several court rulings in which investigators cited suspects' use of internet-anonymisation tools. In the documents, VPNs, end-to-end encrypted messengers, automatic message-deletion features and the ability to hide contacts are described as "methods of conspiracy." The investigation presents them as evidence that a person is capable of pressuring other participants in a case or obstructing the establishment of the circumstances of a crime.
Merkacheva noted that many users enable automatic deletion of correspondence for everyday reasons, for example to avoid overloading their phone's memory. Such settings can now be used against them when courts consider detention requests.
In one case known to the rights advocate, a court cited these arguments when ordering a Moscow general practitioner into custody. He is suspected of justifying terrorism over a post made four years ago. Merkacheva did not disclose the defendant's name, the case number or the name of the court.
According to The Insider, the presence of a VPN or disappearing messages is not in itself a ground for detention provided for by law. Under ruling No. 41 of the Plenum of the Russian Supreme Court of 2013, a court is obliged to establish specific circumstances indicating a risk of flight, of continued criminal activity or of obstruction of the investigation. The decision must cite evidence of such risks and explain why a milder preventive measure cannot be applied.
Russia has already introduced an aggravating circumstance related to circumventing blocks. In July 2025, Vladimir Putin signed law No. 282-FZ, which added a new clause to Article 63 of the Criminal Code — the commission of a crime using technical means of access to blocked resources. The amendment took effect on 1 September 2025.
As Verstka reported, Russian courts began applying the law in practice in April. The first ruling was issued by a court in the Tula Region in December 2025: a local resident was found guilty of the illegal acquisition of drugs, and the court noted that to do so the man had visited a blocked website that works only via VPN. This was taken into account as an aggravating circumstance and he was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.