A Russian teenager has been sentenced to four years in prison on charges of treason, the latest victim of the Kremlin's sweeping crackdown on citizens opposed to its invasion of Ukraine.
Kevin Lik, 18 and a resident of the North Caucasus region of Adygea, was found guilty of observing and photographing the local military base and sending the pictures by e-mail to a representative of a foreign government, according to prosecutors.
The court announced its verdict on December 28 following a closed-door trial. Lik was handed one-third of the minimum 12-year term for treason on account of his age and alleged confession of guilt and remorse for his actions.
Lik allegedly carried out his activities from December 2021 -- when he was a minor attending high school -- until February 8, 2023, prosecutors said. He was allegedly opposed to the government’s policies and war in Ukraine.
Lik was detained in the summer, the BBC reported, citing a friend. His mother was arrested on February 9 for 10 days for using "obscene language" in the military enlistment office building. Such detentions are often the first stage of treason investigations, lawyers told the BBC.
The Kremlin has used the ambiguous treason law as a weapon to crush opposition to its war in Ukraine. People from all walks of life are getting swept up in the treason dragnet, experts say.
Russia is on track to open more treason cases this year than in any year since the fall of the Soviet Union, according to Kholod, an independent news outlet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year signed into law a bill stiffening the penalty for treason to life in prison.