The Yaroslavl Regional Court sentenced 48-year-old local resident Nikolai Shcherbakov to 14 years in a strict-regime colony on treason charges, Mediazona reported.
According to investigators, Shcherbakov "systematically" filmed graves of Russian servicemen killed in the war against Ukraine at a cemetery. He then sent the collected photographs to representatives of Ukrainian special services via a messenger app, the court's press service said.
The case was submitted to the court in late July. Shcherbakov was detained, presumably, in winter.
This is the first known conviction on treason charges related to filming graves of servicemen. However, cases of detention for such filming have become more frequent. In late June, several people were detained in the Tomsk region: the FSB claimed that local residents filmed graves for money — up to 100,000 rubles for 400 photographs. Several people were also detained in the Sverdlovsk region, where they were forced to apologize on camera.
Human rights activists and independent media note that Russian authorities have intensified prosecution for filming graves in recent months. Under the treason article, such activity is classified as a crime when photographs are transferred to Ukraine. Volunteers who previously asked people to send photos of graves to count Russian army losses now warn against doing so.