First sentence for ‘activities against Russian security’ handed down in occupied Yalta
On 25 August 2026, local resident Heorhii Artamonov was sentenced in occupied Yalta under Article 280.4 of the Russian Criminal Code regarding public calls for activities directed against Russia’s security. This is the first known case of this article being applied in temporarily occupied Crimea, the Tribunal. Crimean Episode initiative reported.
Illustrative image. Photo: ici-c-nancy.frArticle 280.4 of the Russian Criminal Code provides for liability for public calls for activities that the Russian authorities consider directed against the state’s security. In Russian judicial practice, this article has been used, in particular, to persecute people over public statements related to the war against Ukraine.
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Earlier, ZMINA reported that the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced a resident of occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast to six years in a general-regime penal colony over comments on Telegram.
As a reminder, as of 24 August 2026, 1,774 cases of administrative punishment for the so-called discrediting of the Russian Armed Forces were recorded in occupied Crimea.
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