Former SBU Officer Oleksandr Lebed Sentenced to 15 Years for Treason

A former SBU officer from Crimea was sentenced to 15 years in prison for high treason and violation of the laws and customs of war.

The sentence was handed down by the Kherson City Court.

According to the court's verdict, the convict, who served in the SBU until 2014, betrayed his country by going over to the enemy. At that time, he served as a group commander of a special unit of the Center for Special Operations to Combat Terrorism, located in Simferopol. After the annexation of Crimea, he began to serve in the so-called "Security Service of the Republic of Crimea," which later became part of the Russian Federation's FSB.

In addition, the prosecution claims that he was involved in the abduction and torture of Ukrainians in the territories occupied by Russia. One such case was the detention of a volunteer from Kherson, Roman Baklazhov, in July 2022. As a result of this incident, Baklazhov spent 54 days in captivity, where he was tortured, including by electric shock.

According to the Center for Investigative Journalism, the convict is Oleksandr Lebed, a former SBU officer who joined the Russian FSB after the occupation of Crimea.

Earlier, the prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea submitted to the court an indictment against two former SBU officers who, after the occupation of the peninsula, sided with Russia and began working for the Russian FSB in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. They are accused of harassing Ukrainian journalists, illegal entry into homes, conducting searches, and treason.

Also, law enforcement officers in Crimea exposed a man who, through the organizations he created, was preparing teenagers for service in the Russian army. His actions are classified as a violation of the laws and customs of war, for which he faces up to 12 years in prison.

In addition, the former SBU official in Crimea was suspected of collaboration, in particular, of cooperation with the FSB. The investigation believes that he voluntarily joined an illegal armed group that was engaged in repressions in the Kherson region.

Ірина Глухова