A Russian man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for high treason after being found guilty of passing classified state information to a representative of a US intelligence agency. The Moscow City Court delivered its verdict on Dmitry Arkadyevich Shatresov, 40, on Wednesday, following a closed trial, according to TASS state news agency.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed that Shatresov had illegally obtained information classified as state secrets with the intent to transfer it to US intelligence.
“The Moscow City Court found Dmitry Arkadyevich Shatresov… guilty of committing high treason in favour of the United States. It was established that Shatresov D.A., having obtained by illegal methods information which constituted state secrets, (and) guided by criminal intent, intended to transfer it to a representative of American intelligence,” the FSB stated.
Shatresov, who lived in a city near Moscow and worked in logistics, was captured on video in court wearing glasses and a blue hooded sweatshirt. Footage shared by the press service for Moscow’s courts shows him shielding his face from the camera while standing inside the defendant’s cage.
His lawyer declined to comment, and the US embassy in Moscow has yet to respond to the case.
Russia has seen a sharp increase in treason and espionage prosecutions since the start of its war in Ukraine. Intelligence agencies have intensified their crackdown on individuals suspected of collaborating with foreign states.
According to the First Department, a Russian lawyers’ association, at least 792 individuals have been charged with treason, espionage, or cooperating with foreign entities since the conflict began nearly three years ago. Trials for such cases are typically held behind closed doors, with acquittals being exceedingly rare.