In Odesa region, a man was imprisoned for 5 years for photographing military equipment for Russians

The Dobroslav District Court of Odesa Region found a citizen guilty of illegally disseminating information about the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This was reported by the Court Reporter publication with reference to the verdict of June 12.

In 2022, the accused was subscribed to the pro-Russian telegram channel Reverse side of the medal and got acquainted with its administrators. On August 18, 2023, he was walking through a village in Odesa region and noticed Ukrainian soldiers and military equipment, took a photo and sent information about it to the chatbot of the enemy telegram channel.

The detainee's cell phone had subscriptions to various pro-Russian telegram channels and correspondence with the chatbot of the Russian Ministry of Defense. On the accused's e-mail accounts, they found photos of buildings and a column of smoke above the roof, as well as copies of correspondence from unidentified persons regarding the crossing of the checkpoint.

The man pleaded not guilty in court. He said that at the end of May 2023, an SBU officer invited him for a conversation. Then, on July 14, his apartment, car and parents' house were searched, and mobile phones, computer hard drives, his wife's laptop and SIM cards were seized. He and his wife were subjected to a polygraph examination. They were asked about contacts with a former pilot of the Russian armed forces and a trip to Crimea in 2018. Then the man was released and returned the seized items. Then he allegedly found a spyware program on his cell phone and his father's phone, but did not contact law enforcement. Later, an expert did not find any spyware on the phone.

The defendant said that in September 2023, when he was detained, he was beaten and forced to say that he was taking photos of air defense systems. The man assumed that a car of SBU officers was driving behind his car and filming air defense. After the first search of his house, SBU officers learned his Wi-Fi password. And later they came, connected to the Wi-Fi, registered a Telegram account on his behalf and sent that photo. But this version was not supported by any evidence, so the court rejected it.

There is no explanation in the verdict about the preliminary search and interviews with the SBU. However, the case file contains an SBU report dated July 7, 2023, stating that this citizen has been passing information to the former Russian pilot about Ukrainian air defense systems in the Odesa area since early May 2022.

When the accused took a picture of the military equipment, he was already under covert surveillance. And the surveillance report was provided to the court.

The man, although he did not admit guilt, confirmed in court that he was subscribed to a Russian telegram channel, the administrator of which is the author of the book "The Other Side". He asked the administrator how he could buy his book. But later, various questions began to come from this account. The defendant claims that he blocked the contact. However, the channel administrator started writing to him from other accounts, asking about the prices of bread and fuel, the location of the Armed Forces, and in case of refusal to communicate, he promised to publish their correspondence and send it to the SBU. To avoid this, the man wrote to him that his wife's friend was staying with her husband, who serves in the Armed Forces.

However, the court found illogical the defendant's explanation that he continued to communicate with the person who demanded information about the location of military facilities because he was afraid of the publication of his previous correspondence. After all, according to the accused himself, he allegedly did not provide any information about the location of military facilities.

The man was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in prison.

Кирило Бойко