Russia sentences Ukrainian citizen Vyhovsky to eleven years in prison

The Moscow Regional Court sentenced citizen of Ukraine Valentyn Vyhovsky to eleven years in penal colony for spying.

Vyhovsky was found guilty of spying (Article 276 of the Criminal Code) in the territory of Russia, Interfax news agency reports.

The court also ordered that the 3,900 euros that were seized from Vyhovsky, to be counted as public revenue.

As reported, the defendant had previously reached a plea agreement with the investigation. The case was classified and was investigated by the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB).

 The investigators believe that Vyhovsky hired the employees of the aerospace organizations of the Russian military-industrial complex to collect and send him the secret technical documentation via the Internet.

“Vyhovsky came in sight of the FSB in 2012 on suspicion of collecting and storing commercial classified information as well as information classified as state secret through bribery in order to transfer it to the representative of a foreign country,” the news agency quoted a source in the FSB as saying.

“Vyhovsky was detained by the FSB officers on the territory of the Republic of Crimea during the transfer of money to a Russian citizen for the obtained materials,” the FSB press service reported.

According to his father, Valentyn Vyhovsky and several other people were detained in Crimea during a working trip and transferred to Russia. He was held in the Lefortovo remand prison in Moscow for more than a year. During this time, he was allowed only one visit with his mother. The circumstances of the case were kept secret, the lawyers were appointed for him, and the Ukrainian Consul was given no details.

“He could not speak about this during the visit, he did not write about it in the letters, he also could not say anything to the human rights activists because the people there did not allow speaking. He could not say anything to the Consul, as people there interrupt the conversation at once. When the Consul comes to him, two-three wardens are present at the meeting,” his father told to Ukraine’s Hromadske Radio.