Russia jails former official for state treason

A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced a former state official to 12.5 years in prison after finding him guilty of state treason. Alexander Vorobyov, a former assistant to the presidential envoy to the Urals Federal District, was arrested in July 2019 by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Moscow City Court did not disclose the nature of his alleged offense and said hearings had been held behind closed doors because they involved secret information. Vorobyov had denied the charge, TASS news agency reported last month.

Under Russian law, state treason can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. A number of Russian scientists, soldiers, and officials have been charged with treason in recent years for allegedly passing sensitive material to foreign countries. Critics of the Kremlin say the arrests are often the result of unfounded paranoia.

On Tuesday, the Interfax news agency reported that Russia had detained an academic on suspicion of state treason for allegedly passing secrets to a NATO country.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)