Supreme Court uphds 12-year prison sentence for SSU officer convicted of high treason

This was reported by the press service of the Supreme Court in Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"The Criminal Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court upheld the decisions of the courts, according to which the head of the Main Department for Combating Corruption and Organised Crime of the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was found guilty of treason in the form of assisting a foreign organisation in conducting subversive activities against Ukraine and defecting to the enemy during the armed conflict, as well as committing desertion (Part 1 of Article 111, Part 1 of Article 408 of the Criminal Code," the Supreme Court said.

As the courts found, on 1 March 2014, the SSU serviceman held personal conversations with the employees of this department, during which he persuaded the latter to commit treason by agitating them to join the newly created foreign organisation – the "Security Service of the Republic of Crimea", which would later join the Russian FSB, thereby assisting the foreign organisation in conducting subversive activities against Ukraine.

"Then he joined the 'Security Service of the Republic of Crimea', the main purpose of which was to carry out subversive activities against Ukraine in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and served in the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, with which Ukraine is in an armed conflict, thus defecting to the enemy during the armed conflict," the press service said.

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According to the Supreme Court, the defendant, in addition, contrary to the order of the head of the SSU, in order to completely evade military service, failed to report for further military service to the new place of service – the Central Department of the SSU – by 30 March 2014, and has not yet reported for further military service without any reason.

He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment with deprivation of his military rank of lieutenant conel. The Supreme Court upheld this decision of the courts of previous instances.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Supreme Court upheld the 12-year prison sentence for a former member of the Crimean parliament for high treason.