Latest news with #PervyOtdel
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Russia jails photographer for 16 years for handing material to American journalist
A Russian court said on Thursday it had found a photographer, Grigory Skvortsov, guilty of treason and jailed him for 16 years after Skvortsov said he had passed detailed information about once-secret Soviet-era bunkers to an American journalist. Advertisement Skvortsov, who was arrested in 2023, denied wrongdoing. In a December 2024 interview with Pervy Otdel, a group of exiled Russian lawyers, he said he had passed on information that was either publicly available online or available to buy from the Russian author of a book about Soviet underground facilities for use in the event of a nuclear war. He did not name the US journalist in the interview with Pervy Otdel, which the Russian authorities have in turn designated a 'foreign agent' - a label which carries negative Soviet-era connotations and is designed to limit their activities and influence. A court in Perm said in a statement that Skvortsov would serve his sentence in a maximum-security corrective prison camp and that his treason had been fully proven in a trial it said had been held behind closed doors. It published a photograph of him in a glass courtroom cage dressed in black looking calm as he listened to the verdict being read out. Advertisement
Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia jails photographer for 16 years for handing material to US journalist
A Russian court said on Thursday it had found a photographer, Grigory Skvortsov, guilty of treason and jailed him for 16 years after Skvortsov said he had passed detailed information about once secret Soviet-era bunkers to a U.S. journalist. Skvortsov, who was arrested in 2023, denied wrongdoing. In a December 2024 interview with Pervy Otdel, a group of exiled Russian lawyers, he said he had passed on information that was either publicly available online or available to purchase from the Russian author of a book about Soviet underground facilities for use in the event of a nuclear war. He did not name the U.S. journalist in the interview with Pervy Otdel, which the Russian authorities have in turn designated a "foreign agent" - a label which carries negative Soviet-era connotations and is designed to limit their activities and influence. A court in Perm said in a statement that Skvortsov would serve his sentence in a maximum-security corrective prison camp and that his treason had been fully proven in a trial it said had been held behind closed doors. It published a photograph of him in a glass courtroom cage dressed in black looking calm as he listened to the verdict being read out. Russia radically expanded its definition of what constitutes a state secret after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 and has since jailed academics, scientists and journalists it deems to have illegally shared secrets. An online support group for Skvortsov said on Telegram after the verdict that "a miracle had not happened" and the photographer's only hope of getting out of jail was to be exchanged as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the West. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia jails photographer for 16 years for handing material to US journalist
June 26 (Reuters) - A Russian court said on Thursday it had found a photographer, Grigory Skvortsov, guilty of treason and jailed him for 16 years after Skvortsov said he had passed detailed information about once secret Soviet-era bunkers to a U.S. journalist. Skvortsov, who was arrested in 2023, denied wrongdoing. In a December 2024 interview with Pervy Otdel, a group of exiled Russian lawyers, he said he had passed on information that was either publicly available online or available to purchase from the Russian author of a book about Soviet underground facilities for use in the event of a nuclear war. He did not name the U.S. journalist in the interview with Pervy Otdel, which the Russian authorities have in turn designated a "foreign agent" - a label which carries negative Soviet-era connotations and is designed to limit their activities and influence. A court in Perm said in a statement that Skvortsov would serve his sentence in a maximum-security corrective prison camp and that his treason had been fully proven in a trial it said had been held behind closed doors. It published a photograph of him in a glass courtroom cage dressed in black looking calm as he listened to the verdict being read out. Russia radically expanded its definition of what constitutes a state secret after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 and has since jailed academics, scientists and journalists it deems to have illegally shared secrets. An online support group for Skvortsov said on Telegram after the verdict that "a miracle had not happened" and the photographer's only hope of getting out of jail was to be exchanged as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the West.
6 days ago
- Politics
Russian activist who helped Ukrainian refugees jailed for 22 years
A Russian activist who helped Ukrainians flee Moscow's invasion has been sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of treason and financing terrorism, her lawyer and Russian media said Friday. Nadezhda Rossinskaya, who also goes by the name Nadin Geisler, ran a volunteer group called 'Army of Beauties," which claims to have helped evacuate thousands of people from Russian-occupied territory — numbers that could not be independently verified. Some made their way to free Ukraine through Russia's southwestern Belgorod region, where the last open checkpoint between the two countries was located, the group says. Fearing for her safety, Rossinskaya left Russia for Georgia in 2023, but decided to return to Belgorod months later to coordinate a complex evacuation, independent Russian news outlets reported. She was detained in February 2024 over an Instagram post calling for donations to Ukrainian forces, and was later charged with treason and financing terrorism, according to Russian court documents and her lawyer Alexey Pryanishnikov. Rossinskaya denied any wrongdoing, and her lawyer said she did not write or publish the post, according to a trial transcript compiled by Russian independent outlet Mediazona. Prosecutors had requested an unusually harsh prison sentence of 27 years for Rossinskaya, who stood trial at a military court in Belgorod. According to Mediazona, Rossinskaya responded by asking the court to jail her for 27 years and one day if found guilty, so that her prison term could be the longest modern Russia has ever handed to a woman. Darya Trepova, jailed for delivering a bomb in 2023 that killed a pro-war blogger in St Petersburg, is currently serving a 27-year sentence. Last September, Rossinskaya was added to Russia's register of 'extremists and terrorists', alongside many individuals and groups who have publicly criticized the war, tried to raise money for Ukraine or help those affected by the fighting. Criminal cases linked to treason, espionage and cooperation with a foreign state have risen drastically since Russia's full-scale invasion, a Russian lawyers' association has reported. According to Pervy Otdel, at least 792 people went on trial on related charges between Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and late December 2024. Over 530 were convicted.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian activist who helped Ukrainian refugees jailed for 22 years
A Russian activist who helped Ukrainians flee Moscow's invasion has been sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of treason and financing terrorism, her lawyer and Russian media said Friday. Nadezhda Rossinskaya, who also goes by the name Nadin Geisler, ran a volunteer group called 'Army of Beauties," which claims to have helped evacuate thousands of people from Russian-occupied territory — numbers that could not be independently verified. Some made their way to free Ukraine through Russia's southwestern Belgorod region, where the last open checkpoint between the two countries was located, the group says. Fearing for her safety, Rossinskaya left Russia for Georgia in 2023, but decided to return to Belgorod months later to coordinate a complex evacuation, independent Russian news outlets reported. She was detained in February 2024 over an Instagram post calling for donations to Ukrainian forces, and was later charged with treason and financing terrorism, according to Russian court documents and her lawyer Alexey Pryanishnikov. Rossinskaya denied any wrongdoing, and her lawyer said she did not write or publish the post, according to a trial transcript compiled by Russian independent outlet Mediazona. Prosecutors had requested an unusually harsh prison sentence of 27 years for Rossinskaya, who stood trial at a military court in Belgorod. According to Mediazona, Rossinskaya responded by asking the court to jail her for 27 years and one day if found guilty, so that her prison term could be the longest modern Russia has ever handed to a woman. Darya Trepova, jailed for delivering a bomb in 2023 that killed a pro-war blogger in St Petersburg, is currently serving a 27-year sentence. Last September, Rossinskaya was added to Russia's register of 'extremists and terrorists', alongside many individuals and groups who have publicly criticized the war, tried to raise money for Ukraine or help those affected by the fighting. Criminal cases linked to treason, espionage and cooperation with a foreign state have risen drastically since Russia's full-scale invasion, a Russian lawyers' association has reported. According to Pervy Otdel, at least 792 people went on trial on related charges between Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and late December 2024. Over 530 were convicted.
