Military historian Zhukov sentenced to 12.5 years for a high treason

- To recognize the defendant Zhukov Andrey Yevgenievich guilty of committing a crime under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (high treason), and to sentence him to 12 years and 6 months in prison with serving in a strict regime colony, - TASS quotes the words of Judge Andrey Suvorov.

The case contained materials classified as "top secret", so the process was closed. Judging by, he read out only the introductory and operative parts of the verdict.

During the debate, the prosecutor asked Zhukov for 17 years in a maximum security colony. The defense side insisted on the termination of the criminal prosecution from the very beginning. Until the verdict took effect.

The case was considered by three professional judges, the time that Zhukov spent in the pre-trial detention center was counted in time.

The defenders called the verdict “unfounded” and promised “to be sure to appeal it in the first appellate court of general jurisdiction”.

Recall that military researcher Andrey Zhukov was detained in 2018. A search was carried out at his house, law enforcement officers confiscated flash cards, a hard drive and a computer. Later, FSB investigators charged him with high treason. TASS points out that the charges brought against the former officer refer "to the history of the Russian Armed Forces and to his active activities on the Internet".

Recently, law enforcement officers have initiated a number of cases under the article on treason. One of the most notorious cases was the case of the adviser to the head of Roscosmos and journalist Ivan Safronov. In early September, his arrest was extended. Meanwhile, at the end of August in Barnaul, an employee of the strategic missile forces was detained under the same article. He is accused of transferring data containing state secrets to the Ukrainian intelligence service.

Earlier, physicist Viktor Kudryavtsev was detained on suspicion of high treason. The FSB was forced to stop the preliminary investigation into his case, since the man was diagnosed with cancer. Now Kudryavtsev is under recognizance not to leave.