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Military court in Rostov-on-Don jails Russian officer to 13 years in prison for treason

The officer was also stripped of his military rank

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. The Southern District Military Court sentenced senior lieutenant of the Russian armed forces Ruslan Artykov to 13 years in a maximum-security prison, finding him guilty of treason conducted in cooperation with the military intelligence of Ukraine, Alyona Katkalo, press secretary of the court, told TASS on Wednesday.

The Russian officer was also stripped of his military rank, she said.

"By the verdict of the Southern District Military Court Artykov Ruslan Akhmetbayevich was found guilty of committing a crime provided for in Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("high treason"). He was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security prison with the deprivation of the military rank of "senior lieutenant," the spokeswoman said.

According to the spokeswoman, the case was heard behind closed doors as it contained classified documents.

A source told TASS that the prosecution had sought 13.5 years of jail for the defendant. The verdict hasn’t entered into force and can be appealed.

Senior Lieutenant Artykov served under contract in the 175th brigade of the Southern Military District, which is stationed in Aksai in the Rostov Region. In November 2019, FSB security officers detained him for collecting secret military information about the Russian armed forces under instructions from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. According to the investigation, the divulgence of data that he collected "could damage the defense capability of the state." During the preliminary investigation, the officer was held at the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow.

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