It is known that Maria, Andrei Zeltser's widow, collected signatures for presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in 2020. However, she did not participate in the protests because she had a young son.
On September 28, 2021, Maria was detained in her own apartment during a shootout between her husband, Andrei Zeltser, and KGB officers.
That day, KGB officers were conducting searches and arresting people who had participated in the 2020 protests in Minsk. When security forces arrived at the Zeltser family's apartment, Andrei Zeltser refused to open the door to the law enforcement officers, who were dressed in civilian clothes and had no official insignia. He locked himself in the apartment with Maria, armed with a hunting rifle. Both were filming the events.
After the door was broken down, Zeltser opened fire with a hunting rifle at the KGB officers who had burst into the apartment. KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk was wounded and died in the hospital later that day. Andrei Zeltser was killed in return fire.
In May 2022, Maria's criminal case began. She was charged with the murder of a person in connection with their official duties, committed in a manner dangerous to society. The case was examined under a special procedure—as if the person had committed a socially dangerous act while in a state of insanity or had developed a mental disorder after committing the crime.
In June 2022, the court ordered Maria to undergo compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital until she recovered.
