The author of the “Kolhoznoe bezumie” telegram channel was sentenced to 14 years in prison

The Second Western District Military Court sentenced 14 years of strict regime prison and a fine of 100,000 rubles to the author of the Telegram channel “Kolkhoznoe bezumie” and the former administrator of the “She Fell Down” publication, Felix Eliseev. He was found guilty of justifying terrorism and treason. The decision was made on December 19, reports the project “Support of political prisoners. Memorial”.

Eliseev was detained and sent to custody in December 2022 on charges of justifying terrorism. The reason for the case was his posts in Telegram, in particular, the publication on March 31, 2022 about the attack on the oil depot in Belgorod.

In April 2023, a criminal case of treason was opened against him. The Lipetsk office of the FSB announced the “detention of the sponsor of militants” and published a video in which Eliseev “admits” that in February 2022 he transferred money to the Armed Forces. The investigation confirmed that the defendant transferred money to a citizen of Ukraine with the help of cryptocurrency, which was then spent on the purchase of uniforms and ammunition for the airborne assault troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. An acquaintance of Yeliseeva wrote that “I know Felix’s poverty, I am sure there were 300-500 rubles there,” human rights activists report.

Eliseev said that his health had deteriorated in the SIZO, he complained about the lack of medical care.

According to the data of the human rights project “First Department”, since the beginning of 2023, Russian courts have received 63 cases under the article on state change, another seven cases under the article about cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization. In 37 cases, courts have already handed down sentences. All of them are accusatory.

Yevgeny Smirnov, the lawyer of the “First Department”, believes that since the beginning of the year, in fact, more than 100 cases of state treason have been initiated, and their number continues to grow. According to the human rights activist, sending Ukrainian news, transferring a few hundred rubles, or wanting to leave the country was considered treason. Provocations deserve special attention, as this is a signal that the FSB requires indicators – more people sent to camps for treason,” he notes.