A Russian man swam to Lithuania to seek asylum. He was sent back to Russia, where he was sentenced to six years in prison.

Source: Delfi

The Baltic Fleet Military Court sentenced Igor Odintsov, a 68-year-old Russian national, to six years in prison. In September, Odintsov swam from Russia’s Kaliningrad region to Lithuania along the Neman River and requested political asylum, but Lithuanian border guards sent him back to Russia.

Odintsov was convicted of “publicly calling for terrorist activity” on social media. The Ruwest news portal reported that Odintsov had spoken out against Russia’s war in Ukraine. After he fled to Lithuania, the hearing in his case was suspended on September 17. He was detained again on September 21, and a verdict was handed down on September 30.

After Odintsov’s expulsion, Lithuania’s Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said authorities had sent him back despite his request for political asylum. After arriving in Lithuania, Odintsov told Lithuania’s Interior Ministry and border guard officers about the persecution threatening him, but they concluded that he should be sent back. Odintsov’s statements about seeking protection were “vague,” the border guard service said:

There was no information about any danger facing him, special status, or possible admission into the European Union, and he does not fall into the category of vulnerable persons. The decision was made not to let this person in.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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A Russian man swam to Lithuania to seek asylum. He was sent back to Russia, where he was sentenced to six years in prison.

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A Russian man swam to Lithuania to seek asylum. He was sent back to Russia, where he was sentenced to six years in prison.

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