Watchdog

A court in Moscow has extended the pretrial detention of the head of a leading Russian cybersecurity company who was arrested last September on charges of state treason.

An official for the Lefortovo district court told the state-controlled TASS news agency that it had ruled on May 27 that Ilya Sachkov's pretrial detention was being prolonged until at least July 28.

Sachkov is the founder of Group-IB, a company known for its work in tracking down hackers and fighting theft and cyberfraud.

Sachkov, 35, is one of a group of prominent people, including scientists and cybersecurity officials, to be arrested in Russia on treason charges in recent years. Moscow has faced numerous allegations of being behind cyberattacks on Western countries -- which it has consistently denied.

Investigators said Sachkov was suspected of passing classified information to a foreign country. No other details were given by officials.

Sachkov was arrested and charged after police searched his company's offices in Moscow on September 28. He denies any wrongdoing.

Group-IB, founded in 2003, has grown markedly in recent years as cybercrimes increase globally.

In addition to Moscow, the company has offices in Singapore, London, New York, and Dubai.

Based on reporting by TASS

A court in Russia has rejected an appeal filed by Belarusian activist Yana Pinchuk against Moscow's refusal to grant her political asylum, paving the way for her extradition home where she faces charges for protesting the disputed August 2020 election that kept authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka in power.

The Belarusian human rights group Vitsebskaya Vyasna said that, as a result of the May 26 decision by the Smolny district court in St. Petersburg, Pinchuk will very likely be extradited to Belarus with a hearing on the issue scheduled for June 1.

Police in St. Petersburg arrested Pinchuk on November 1 at the request of Belarus.

Pinchuk is wanted in Belarus on several charges, including inciting national hatred, calls for activities that damaged national security, and slander.

Belarusian authorities accuse Pinchuk of administering the Vitsebsk97% Telegram channel, which had been critical of Lukashenka's regime and has been labeled as extremist in Belarus.

Pinchuk rejects all the charges and says she immediately closed her Telegram channel after it was officially labeled as extremist.

In December, the Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Pinchuk as a political prisoner and demanded her immediate release.

Pinchuk is one of many Belarusians who have faced multiple charges linked to the mass protests against Lukashenka following the controversial presidential election.

Thousands have been arrested and much of the opposition leadership has been jailed or forced into exile. Several protesters have been killed and there have also been credible reports of torture during a widening security crackdown.

Belarusian authorities have also shut down several nongovernmental organizations and independent media outlets.

The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote and imposed several rounds of sanctions on him and his regime, citing election fraud and the crackdown.