A Russian court has convicted Dmitry Arkadyevich Shatresov of high treason and sentenced him to 17 years in prison for transferring classified information to a representative of a US intelligence agency. The ruling was reported by the state-run TASS news agency on Thursday.
The Russia’s Federal Security Service said that Shatresov obtained information classified as state secret through criminal means and intended to transfer them to American intelligence. The verdict was pronounced on Wednesday by Moscow City Court which tried the case in camera, considering the severity of the charge.
Shatresov, a 40-year-old logistics worker from the Moscow region, was seen in court wearing glasses and a blue hooded sweatshirt. Footage released by the Moscow courts showed him standing in the defendant’s cage and trying to hide his face from cameras.
US embassy in Moscow has not commented on the case, and Shatresov’s lawyer declined to answer questions from the media.
Treahson cases in Russia, mostly tried in camera, are almost never acquitted. Official statistics report a significant increase in such cases since the start of the war in Ukraine. At least 792 people have been charged with treason, espionage, or collaboration with foreign states since the conflict started nearly three years ago, said Pervy Otdel, an association of lawyers in Russia.
As part of larger efforts in securing state secrets amid the current geopolitical spats, the FSB has intensified crackdowns on those it suspected to be foreign agents and spies. Shatresov’s conviction highlights the heightened vigilance with which the Russian authorities are enforcing actions against perceived threats to national security.