A court in annexed Crimea has sentenced five Crimeans to long-term sentences under the article on espionage in favor of Ukraine. This was reported by Radio Liberty, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that all the convicts had Ukrainian citizenship. They were sentenced to 11 to 16 years in prison. According to the investigation, the convicts collected and passed on to the Security Service of Ukraine information about the location, routes and number of Russian troops at the front. The information was used by the Ukrainian army to adjust strikes on the positions of the Russian military, the FSB reported.
In 2023, nine people were convicted of espionage in Russia, the highest number since 2009, according to First Department. According to statistics, most of them are citizens of CIS countries. There are more cases under this article: Siberia. Realii writes about 31 cases opened in 2023 alone. Human rights activists expect the number of cases to grow further. Only foreign citizens are tried under the espionage article, with a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison.
Recall
A Russian court refuses to release Crimean political prisoner Amet Suleymanov, who needs urgent heart surgery and is being denied adequate medical care in violation of the Geneva Convention.