On February 14, the Kostroma Regional Court sentenced 35-year-old Nikolai Malkerov to the four years of the colony on charges of cooperation with a foreign state on a confidential basis (Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the press service of the regional prosecutor's office.
The press service of the Kostroma regional court notes that the man watched the Internet on the Internet about the activities of the Legion, then began to go to his site and tried to fill out the questionnaire, but did not complete it.
On April 10, 2024, Malkerov entered into a correspondence with the user under the nickname "Kurator" and said that he wanted to "provide assistance in activities against the Russian Federation." The man suggested “collecting information about one of the objects in the Yaroslavl region”, send his photo and video.
Since that time, a man has been in correspondence with the “representative” of the Legion through Telegram. However, according to the court, he did not manage to send a photo or video - he was detained by the FSB officers.
In addition to the four years of the colony of general regime, the court also appointed Nikolai Malkov a year of restriction of freedom.
Sota notes that Kostromich with the same name and date of birth is engaged in the construction of private houses. At the trial, the man pleaded guilty and asked to mitigate the verdict in order to "save his family."
- Legion “Freedom of Russia” is a military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, formed mainly from Russian prisoners of war and volunteers. In March 2023, the Supreme Court of Russia recognized the organization of “terrorist” and banned its activities.
- Article 275.1 was introduced into the Criminal Code a few months after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, in July 2022. It threatens from three to eight years in the colony. Human rights activists indicated the vague of the formulation of this article.