A Russian military court has sentenced a former soldier from a western region bordering Ukraine to 13 years in prison on treason charges, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday.
According to Interfax, Artyom Semyonov was detained on March 30, 2022, on accusations of treason that the news agency noted was committed before Russia invaded Ukraine one month earlier.
Moscow’s Second Western Military Garrison Court found Semyonov guilty on Thursday.
Russia’s court system registered Semyonov’s case more than a year later in April 2023 and the verdict was handed out this week.
He was ordered to serve 13 years in a maximum-security penal colony with the minimum sentencing guideline requiring 12-year prison stints.
The trial was held behind closed doors and case documents were classified, meaning no details were made public about the substance of the accusations against Semyonov.
He is the second Russian soldier to be imprisoned for treason in a week.
Activists say the number of treason cases in Russia has risen significantly since the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Court databases in Moscow alone currently contain several dozen names of defendants, compared to 16 convictions across the entire country in 2022.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
