A court in Russia deemed a “propensity for treason” grounds for arrest in a crimi...

A court in Russia deemed a “propensity for treason” grounds for arrest in a criminal case. This is likely the first such case

The Primorsky Krai Court kept a man accused of aiding terrorist activity and high treason in custody, explaining this by saying that he is “inclined toward treason,” according to a ruling noted by “Verstka.”

The decision states that the accused, whose name is concealed, was detained and arrested by the Frunzensky District Court of Vladivostok about a year ago, after which his pretrial restraint was extended multiple times.

In June, the defendant's lawyer asked for the measure to be eased to house arrest. The judge took into account the positive character reference for the defendant, but cited a number of other arguments against him.

“At the same time, A supports the policy of an unfriendly state during the period of the special military operation, is inclined toward treason, and, knowing that initial operational-search measures were being conducted in relation to him, intended to leave the territory of the Russian Federation, including by illegal means,” the court ruling says.

As a result, the court rejected the defense's appeal. The man's lawyer did not respond to a Verstka journalist's request for comment.

Verstka could not find any other court rulings in which a court justified its position with the wording about a “propensity for treason.” Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer with Pervy Otdel, also told Verstka that this was the first time he had encountered anything like it.

“Such a decision is an excellent reflection of the state of the judicial and law enforcement system. Officials are no longer even hiding behind legal wording, but are using phrases we are used to reading in history textbooks,” Smirnov said.

🟪Aiding terrorist activity and high treason are especially grave crimes, for which the penalties include life imprisonment. Charges under the article on aiding terrorism were brought, for example, against Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

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