The Kurgan Regional Court registered the case file against a local resident accused of “collaborating on a confidential basis” with a foreign organization (Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code). Mediazona drew attention to the case file.
The defendant's name is Maxim Kharitonov. Previously, the Kurgan City Court sent him to a pre-trial detention center on a criminal case; on October 13, the measure of restraint was approved by the appellate court.
In mid-October, the regional department of the FSB reported on the detention of a 20-year-old Kurgan resident under Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code — probably in the press The security forces' release was about Kharitonov.
According to investigators, in March the Trans-Ural resident corresponded with representatives of an unnamed Ukrainian organization banned in Russia, and received from them “instructions for carrying out sabotage and subversive work.” In particular, the security forces believe that representatives of the banned organization asked the Kurgan resident to distribute “pro-Ukrainian materials” and collect the addresses of military units and military registration and enlistment offices, as well as units of the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Guard.
As the FSB said, after the arrest the young man gave confessions. The article he is charged with carries a sentence of up to eight years in prison — it was added to the Criminal Code in 2022.
Previously, the reason for similar criminal cases included correspondence with representatives of the Legion “Freedom of Russia”, which was recognized as a “terrorist organization” in March. The human rights project “First Department” claimed that they were aware of provocations when FSB officers wrote to Russians on behalf of representatives of the legion.