Russian court sentences former police officer to 18 years for treason

A court in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region has sentenced a former senior police lieutenant in the reserve to 18 years in prison after finding him guilty of collaborating with Ukrainian special services and carrying out acts of sabotage.

The verdict was announced with reference to the regional press service of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Investigators said the defendant began allegedly cooperating with a Ukrainian intelligence officer in September 2024. During this period, he allegedly received training in covert operations and in the construction of homemade incendiary devices, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media. 

According to the FSB, acting on instructions from his handler, the man carried out sabotage at a railway facility in the Chelyabinsk region in the autumn of 2024.

The court found him guilty on two charges under the Russian Criminal Code: high treason and sabotage. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison, with the first four years to be served in a prison facility, followed by the remainder of the term in a high-security penal colony.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of 694,000 roubles ($9,128) and stripped the defendant of his rank as a retired senior police lieutenant.

By Sabina Mammadli