For the first time, a schoolboy in Russia was convicted of treason

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Adygea sentenced 18-year-old Maykop resident Kevin Lyk to 4 years in prison on charges of treason. This is the first time in Russia that a schoolboy has been convicted of this, reports the Russian service of the BBC.

The Supreme Court of Adygea handed down the verdict in the classified case on December 28. According to the investigation, the convicted man observed the locations of the Russian military in Maykop, photographed the local military unit, and allegedly sent the photos to the e-mail of a “representative of a foreign state.” At the same time, it is claimed that Lyk started illegal activities before the invasion of Ukraine: the investigation covers the period from December 23, 2021 to February 8, 2023.

Presumably, he was detained on this day. His mother, Victoria Lyk, was arrested on February 9 for 10 days for “obscene language” in the building of the military enlistment office. Acquaintance Lika confirmed to journalists that he is in custody until the sentence comes into effect. His case, however, was not known until the verdict was announced.

It is not specified what exactly Kevin Lyk photographed, but the address and photo of Maikop military units can be found on the Internet.

The person was still a minor during the period when, according to the investigation, he committed the crime. The age of the convict became one of the mitigating circumstances, as well as the presence of a chronic disease, as well as victories in subject Olympiads. Lyk has won the German language Olympiad in Adygea at least four times in recent years. At the beginning of 2021, he was also a prize-winner of the Olympiad in history.

For adults, the minimum punishment under the article on treason is 12 years of imprisonment. The prosecutor asked for 4.5 years for the schoolboy.

• Since the beginning of 2023, no less than 63 cases of treason have been brought to Russian courts, in 33 of them the judges handed down verdicts, according to a study by lawyers from the First Department. Residents of Russia are detained for trying to transfer data to the Ukrainian side, to switch to the enemy’s side, or to support the Armed Forces with money. To what extent the accusations are confirmed by facts – it is difficult to judge, since the FSB will not publish any evidence.
• In St. Petersburg, minor schoolboy Egor Balazeykin was sentenced to 6 years in prison on charges of two attempts to set fire to military enlistment centers, which the court considered to be acts of terrorism.