A court in Vladikavkaz arrested a 21-year-old Russian detained at the Upper Lars checkpoint while trying to cross the border. According to the human rights project “The First Section”, Saveliy Frolov is suspected of having planned to join the Legion “Freedom of Russia”, allegedly fighting on the side of the Ukrainian army.
According to the lawyers of the “First Department”, a case was initiated against the young man on preparations for going over to the side of the enemy (part 1 of article 30 and article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the amendments adopted by the State Duma in July, this act is equated with high treason.
The court session on the measure of restraint took place on December 12.
Lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov, representing Frolov's interests, noted that this is one of the first cases initiated under the updated article on treason, so there is no judicial practice on it so far:
“It is still difficult to judge the evidence that the FSB investigators are using. At the trial for choosing a measure of restraint, the investigator said that Savely bought camouflage pants and special shoes in the summer that can be used during hostilities. And also, according to the FSB, he tried to get to the front through Georgia, Turkey and Poland. However, he did not have tickets or visas.”
He also noted that Frolov was detained after the border guards studied his phone.
Frolov was removed from the bus at the Upper Lars checkpoint at the end of October, after which he was arrested for 15 days for swearing in a public place. The young man's mother, who called the police station in Vladikavkaz, was told that he had signed a "refusal to cross the Russian-Georgian border."
Frolov's parents told Paper Kartuli that people who introduced themselves as FSB officers called them from their son's number and asked about him.
"Legion" Freedom of Russia "" is a military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, formed, according to Ukrainian officials, from Russian prisoners of war and volunteers who went over to the side of Ukraine. At the same time, there is no independent confirmation of the real existence of the Legion.
Earlier, Ilya Ponomarev, a former State Duma deputy who received Ukrainian citizenship in 2019, also spoke about the “Legion“ Freedom of Russia ””. In April, a press conference was held at the office of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, at which several men in balaclavas identified themselves as members of this detachment. They did not give their names.
On December 13, Interfax, citing the FSB, reported that a man was detained at the Krasnoyarsk airport, who allegedly was going to leave the country and join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was charged with attempted treason (Part 3, Article 30, Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
On December 14, Kommersant wrote that a local resident, 30-year-old Sergei Ulukshonov, was sentenced in Krasnoyarsk, who, according to investigators, tried to leave for Ukraine and fight on its side. The defendant was sentenced to four years and eight months in a strict regime colony. Ulukshonov was tried on charges of preparing to participate in an armed formation on the territory of a foreign state (part 1 of article 30, part 2 of article 208 of the Criminal Code).