High treason and terrorism: five Crimean residents were sentenced in January

In January, the occupiers' courts sentenced at least five Crimean residents. They were tried for alleged treason and terrorism.

This is stated in the Analysis of human rights violations in the occupied Crimea in January 2026.

In January 2026, 2 searches, 4 detentions, 9 arrests and 9 cases of violations of the right to the highest level of physical and mental health were recorded in the occupied Crimea. Occupation courts have handed down several sentences for alleged "high treason" and "terrorism".

For example, the occupation Sevastopol City Court sentenced 53-year-old Danylo Zemlyukov to 17 years in a maximum security colony for alleged "high treason" and "illegal possession of explosive devices."

The Southern District Military Court of Russia also sentenced 50-year-old Vasily Drosov from Kerch to 5 years in prison for "publicly justifying terrorist activities."

Another sentence was handed down to a 34-year-old resident of the Dzhankoy district, who was sentenced to 4 years in prison for "public calls for terrorist activity, justification or propaganda of terrorism via the Internet."

In Krasnodar Krai, a Russian court sentenced a resident of the temporarily occupied Crimea to 5 years in a general regime colony for "calls for terrorism" published online.

In addition, the Supreme Court of Crimea sentenced a resident of the Dzhankoy district to 15 years in prison and additional restriction of liberty for a year and a half after serving the main sentence for "high treason."

In addition, four Crimean political prisoners - Emil Ziyadinov, Rustem Murasov, Volodymyr Yakimenko and Nasrulla Seidaliev - were held in punishment isolation cells, harsh conditions or solitary confinement.

It is also reported that Russia has deprived two political prisoners from Crimea - Rustem Tairov and Eldar Kantimirov- of their citizenship.

In occupied Crimea in 2025, several political prisoners were released from Russian detention centers, but some of the releases took place only after the full completion of illegal terms or for humanitarian reasons.

Анна Літман