Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting the FSB the authority to establish its own pretrial detention centers for individuals suspected or accused of criminal offenses. The text of the law has been published on the official legal information portal.
Under the new provisions, the FSB director will have the authority to set rules for detainees' confinement, including conditions for their transportation, participation in investigative procedures, and court hearings. These specialized facilities are intended to house individuals accused of treason, espionage, collaboration with foreign intelligence services, terrorism, and extremism—justified by the need to "strengthen the protection of state secrets" amid the "special military operation."
The law also stipulates the transfer of centrally administered pretrial detention centers from the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN, under the Ministry of Justice) to the FSB. According to *Meduza*, the list of facilities to be transferred includes: - SIZO-1 (Moscow, 18 Matrosskaya Tishina St.) - SIZO-2 (Moscow, 5 Lefortovsky Val St.) - SIZO-3 (St. Petersburg, 25 Shpalernaya St.) - SIZO-4 (Rostov-on-Don, 31 Bolshaya Sadovaya St.) - SIZO-5 (Krasnodar, 22 Krasnoarmeyskaya St.) - SIZO-6 (Vladikavkaz, 6 Mordovtseva St.) - SIZO-7 (Chelyabinsk, 70 Kommuny St.)
The law will take effect on January 1, 2026. The initiative was introduced to the State Duma on February 26 by a group of lawmakers led by Vasily Piskaryov, head of the Duma’s Security Committee.
In explanatory materials, legislators noted that in 1996, upon joining the Council of Europe, Russia committed to placing its penitentiary system under the Ministry of Justice’s control. To fulfill these obligations, the president signed a decree in 2005 transferring pretrial detention centers to the Ministry of Justice, with corresponding legal amendments adopted in April 2006.
The bill’s authors argued that "decisions previously made under the influence of Western 'partners' to comply with 'European standards' did not contribute to strengthening security or effectively countering particularly dangerous crimes." Piskaryov stated that "housing treason suspects in specialized FSB detention centers will improve investigative efficiency and prevent their contact with other detainees."