A photographer was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 16 years in prison for allegedly sharing information with an American journalist about underground bunkers from the Soviet era.
Following a closed-door trial, the court in Perm’s western city sentenced Grigory Skvortsov on Thursday without providing further information. Skvortsov, who was detained by Russian authorities in 2023, has denied any wrongdoing.
Skvortsov’s sentence would be served in a maximum-security correctional prison camp, according to the court.
Additionally, it published a photo of him as the verdict was read out in a glass courtroom cage dressed in black.
Skvortsov claimed in an interview with a group of exiled Russian lawyers in December that he had shared information with the Russian author of a book about underground Soviet installations for use in the event of a nuclear war.
In the interview with Pervy Otdel, Skvortsov did not identify the US journalist with whom he was working.
Russia has dramatically expanded its definition of what constitutes state secrets since its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022, and it has imprisoned academicians, scientists, and journalists who it believes have broken the new laws.
Skvortsov, a photographer of architecture, has also spoken out in person against Moscow’s military assault on Ukraine. He alleges that FSB officers tried to press on him to confess treason after he was detained in November of 2023.
Following the verdict, a Skvortsov support group posted a message on Telegram claiming that “a miracle had not occurred” and that the photographer’s only chance of leaving jail was being exchanged as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and the West.
Skvortsov is one of those facing criminal charges that is likely “politically motivated and marked by serious legal violations,” according to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights organization Memorial.
Source: Aljazeera
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