In 1999, bombs exploded in apartment buildings in Moscow, killing more than 100 people. The Russian authorities promptly accused Chechen separatists of carrying out the attacks, and then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Chechnya sparking the Second Chechen War. These actions, taken in the name of counterterrorism, enhanced Putin's popularity and contributed to his win in the presidential election in 2000.

Mikhail Trepashkin, a defense attorney, became a consultant to a special public commission set up by prominent human rights activist and former Duma Deputy Sergei Kovalev to investigate the circumstances of the 1999 bombings. Mr. Trepashkin had worked for the Federal Security Service (FSB) and brought his insider knowledge of the agency to the investigation.

During the investigation, Mr. Trepashkin revealed evidence of FSB involvement in the Moscow bombings. This included an interview with the landlord of the apartment building, who said he had been coerced into identifying a Chechen as the culprit. Also, two weeks after the bombings which shook Moscow, local police found another bomb in an apartment building in the city of Ryazan. Suspects were apprehended and later released when they turned out to be FSB agents.

The investigation came to an abrupt end when the co-chairman of the Commission, Sergei Yushenkov, was murdered in front of his home. A Commission member died of food poisoning, another was brutally beaten, and two other members were removed from their seats in the legislature.

Mr. Trepashkin was hired by Tatiana and Alyona Morozova, the Russian-American daughters of a woman who was killed in the 1999 blast, to represent their interests during the prosecution of the Chechen rebels accused of transporting the explosives. The first day of the trial was scheduled for October 24, 2003. Just four days before he was set to appear in court to represent the interests of his clients, Trepashkin was stopped on a roadway outside Moscow by the police. The police searched Trepashkin's car and declared they had found a pistol in his trunk. Trepashkin denies having a gun in his car, and claims that the police fabricated the charges.

On October 22, 2003, Trepashkin was jailed. He was not able to represent his clients at the trial of two Chechens accused of transporting explosives used in the bombing. The Chechens were convicted in a closed trial.

In May 2004, in a separate but related trial, Trepashkin was convicted on charges of divulging state secrets. The judge sentenced him to serve his sentence in a penal camp where he would be somewhat free to move about.  Despite the judge's order, Trepashkin was taken back to his 130-square foot cell in Volokolamsk prison, which he shared with six other men. He was denied medical attention for chronic asthma. This harsh treatment may be in retaliation for a complaint filed on Trepashkin's behalf to the European Court of Human Rights, which has expedited consideration of his claim.

An international outcry against the imprisonment of Mikhail Trepashkin was joined by Elena Bonner, widow of well-known Russian human rights defender Andrei Sakharov, a number of British public figures, Representative Christopher Smith from New Jersey, and the International Commission of Jurists.

On December 1, 2004, after a year in prison, the prosecution against Trepashkin on the gun possession charge commenced. On the first day of the trial, a number of police witnesses were called, but none could testify that they had seen a gun in the trunk of Trepashkin's car.  On April 15, 2005, he was found guilty of gun possession, and another year was added to his total sentence. That conviction was overturned on appeal, however. 

Trepashkin was transferred to serve his sentence to the Urals (about 2,000 km from Moscow), though according to Russian penal law he should have served his sentence in the same region where he resided and was convicted.

His lawyers subsequently filed a request for his parole. To their surprise, it was granted on August 19, 2005. The government was allowed 10 days to appeal, but did not do so.  On the 11th day, Trepashkin was released from prison. He returned to his home in Moscow, and held a press conference during which he described the harsh conditions of his detention and confirmed his intention to continue his human rights activities.

The following day, an appeals court granted the prosecutor's office an extension of its appeal deadline, and subsequently overturned the grant of parole. A group of twenty men picked Trepashkin up at his home on Sunday, September 18. They did not identify themselves, nor did they provide a warrant for his arrest. Though there were no legal grounds for his re-detention, Trepashkin was imprisoned.   Once again, he was imprisoned outside Moscow, his place of residence, which is against the law.  Appeals through Russian courts for his release have all failed.