A resident of the Primorsky Territory was charged with treason in favor of China (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Astra writes about it. According to the Telegram channel, the man's name is Lukin I.A., the case against him was opened on March 15, 2023.
The investigation claims that in 2013 Lukin traveled to China, where he “established confidential cooperation with a career officer of the PRC intelligence service, Yang Shiheng.” A few years later, in January 2020, a man, allegedly on the instructions of the Chinese special services of China, took his acquaintance S. B. Yatsenko from Russia to China. It is alleged that he had some knowledge about the military infrastructure of Russia. A criminal case was also initiated against Yatsenko. According to investigators, in 2022, from January 28 to June 20, Yatsenko was on assignment from foreign intelligence agencies, collecting information about Russia's nuclear weapons, "constituting a state secret."
About why there are more and more cases of treason and what punishment can be received under the relevant article, Dmitry Zair-Bek, head of the First Department human rights project, told The Insider:
“Criminal cases under the article on treason after the law was updated last July are most often initiated under the new, so-called “fourth form” of this crime – for going over to the side of the enemy. At the same time, citizens are accused of committing unfinished crimes. In simple words: if the accused, in correspondence with a friend, said that he was going to leave to fight on the side of Ukraine, then this is preparation, and if he was detained at the airport or while trying to climb the fence, it is an attempt. And for this, the criminal code provides for sanctions that differ from the standard fork of 12-20 years. For cooking – no more than half of the maximum term, that is, no more than 10 years in prison, and attempt – no more than three-quarters of the maximum, respectively, no more than 15 years.
