A resident of the Bryansk region was accused of obtaining state secrets due to a conversation with a border guard

A resident of the village of Luzhki in the Bryansk region, Viktor Ryzhanov, was accused of illegally obtaining information constituting a state secret (Article 283.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by Interfax with reference to the lawyer of Team 29 Ivan Pavlov.

The reason for initiating a criminal case was Ryzhanov's conversation with a border guard: according to the investigation, the defendant received information about the border patrol order.

“My client talked with one of the border guards - they previously served in the army together and maintained friendly relations. In conversations with Ryzhanov, his friend told him several times whether he would go on patrol today. Ryzhanov could not assume that these words contained a state secret: in the village, which is located in close proximity to the border with Ukraine, it is clear that if the border guards went to work, then there would be a patrol, ”said Pavlov.

To know what information constitutes a state secret, you need to read secret instructions and orders, and this can only be done by persons with special access to state secrets, he noted. Ryzhanov had no such access.

The case against Ryzhanov was initiated by the FSB in the region. In February, he was searched and his phone, computer and electronic media were confiscated. Then Ryzhanov was informed that he was a witness in the case of disclosure of state secrets against border guard Vladimir Kornienko, but in October 2016 Ryzhanov himself was detained. He is under bail.

In a conversation with Interfax, the lawyer noted that he considers Article 283.1 to be contrary to the Constitution. “You can't judge people for violating a secret legal act that they couldn't even read. Ryzhanov is accused of not knowing what is a state secret, he heard one from a friend in an everyday conversation, ”he said.