Three new high treason cases discovered in Russia

Two military servicemen in Russia’s southwest Krasnodar region are currently facing high treason charges, and one military serviceman has been found guilty of high treason. News agency Interfax has reported this information, citing sources in law enforcement.

So far, there has been no official confirmation of this information. The sources told Interfax that a military serviceman by the last name of Germanov has been under arrest for over a year for suspected espionage. Another serviceman, by the last name of Nakhatakyan, does not speak sufficient Russian, so court proceedings have taken place with the help of an interpreter. The third man, a resident of Sochi, was allegedly detained the day after the closing ceremony of the 2014 winter Olympics. His last name is Kesyan, and the sources say he is also currently under arrest.

“Unfortunately, military servicemen get charged with these kinds of things quite often. An upswing in arrests takes place when there are various conflicts… The usual punishment is imprisonment, loss of military rank and military awards,” said a source speaking to Interfax.

Court cases with charges of high treason are classified. Statistics on treason cases are published once a year. The government does not disclose any current information about ongoing cases surrounding treason and espionage.

According to official data, only three people were found guilty of high treason in 2013, while in 2014 this number rose to fifteen. These numbers do not include those who were arrested on high treason charges and not indicted. The statistics for 2015 will become available only at the beginning of next year.

Several high treason cases were reported on by Russian media in 2015 already. A case against Svetlana Davydova, mother of seven, has gotten the most attention. According to the prosecution, Davydova had called the Ukrainian embassy and given them information about Russian troops in Ukraine after overhearing a conversation about troop movements on a bus. In March 2015, the case was closed and Davydova was not charged.