A resident of the Belgorod Region was sentenced to 12.5 years for treason

In the Belgorod region, the court sentenced a local resident to 12.5 years of strict regime, found him guilty of treason.

According to the investigation, a 45-year-old native of Ukraine, but at the same time a citizen of Russia, Vitaliy Kryvoshlyk, gave the SBU information about the movement of Russian military personnel.

The RBC edition claims that the defendant pleaded guilty and actively cooperated with law enforcement agencies. At the same time, the case was considered in closed mode.

• Human rights activists note that the number of criminal cases brought under the article of the Criminal Code on treason has increased sharply in Russia recently. If for the whole of 2022, 22 such cases were initiated, which was already a record in recent history, then this year this indicator was reached by June. For comparison: over the previous 25 years, from 1997 to 2021, 117 people were accused of treason.
• In July, the sharp increase in the number of criminal cases in Russia on charges of treason and espionage was also noted by the UN. The report of the organization states that last year 24 cases were initiated under the article of embezzlement and 16 people were convicted, and in the first six months of 2023, at least 43 suspects were charged with similar charges.
• Only last week it was reported about two more verdicts on this article.
• In April, the Russian authorities passed a law on life imprisonment for treason. In the summer, deputies of the State Duma expanded the concept of state change, equating it with “actions connected with the transfer to the side of the enemy in the conditions of an armed conflict or military actions” against Russia.