Iurii Kaev
Iurii Kaev, born 1983, Occupied territory of Republic of Crimea. Charges: Article 205.4 part 2, Russian Criminal Code (Participation in a terrorist community); Article 361 part 1 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code (The commission of an explosion, arson or other actions outside the territory of the Russian…); “The case of the nine”. Sentence (January 30, 2026): 14 years' imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony. Status: imprisoned. Recognition: Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners — recognised as a political prisoner, January 30, 2026.
In brief
Occupied territory of Republic of Crimea, Occupied territory of Khersonska oblast · Simferopol · Entrepreneurs · Terrorism cases
Sentence
14 years
imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony
No information about an appeal ruling.
Charges
- Article 205.4 part 2, Russian Criminal Code — Participation in a terrorist community
- Article 361 part 1 applied with Article 30 part 1, Russian Criminal Code — The commission of an explosion, arson or other actions outside the territory of the Russian Federation that endanger the citizens of the Russian Federation
Full wording of the charges
According to the investigation, he participated in a terrorist community created by SBU officers, and, from March to August 2022, conducted surveillance of locations visited and routes used by officials of the Kherson Regional Military-Civil Administration and Russian servicemen “for the purpose of subsequently committing acts of international terrorism”. He took photographs and searched for locationssuitable for carrying out explosions. In May 2022, in Kherson, "under unspecified circumstances" he received from Sergei Zelinskii (whose status in the case is unknown) pistols of the Makarov design "PM" and a "Fort-12" with magazines, "for use in the interests of the terrorist community", which he "under unspecified circumstances" transported and stored in a cache, "until their seizure by officers of the Federal Security Service of Russia during the operational-search measure on August 5, 2022". (In court, Kaev stated that he made this cache at the end of September 2022 on the instructions from FSB officers and put there the package they had given him.) Between August 2 and 4, 2022, together with Denis Lialka, another person prosecuted in the case, they manufactured "a radio-controlled improvised explosive device of a fragmentation high-explosive type, of an electrical design, suitable for producing an explosion.”
Latest event
January 30, 2026 — first-instance verdict
The court delivered a guilty verdict: 14 years.
Recognition by rights defenders
- Recognised as a political prisoner — Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners, January 30, 2026
Timeline
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict · 14 years
· Recognised as a political prisoner
Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
· Added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of “terrorists and extremists”
· Preventive measure: pre-trial detention
· Persecution begins
The case of the nine
Criminal case
The case of the nine
- Case number
- 1-10/2026 (1-38/2025; 1-133/2024; 1-354/2023;)
Other defendants in the case
- Oleg Bogdanov — Imprisoned, 18 years
- Sergei Geidt — Imprisoned, 17 years
- Sergey Kabakov — Imprisoned, 20 years
- Sergei Kovalskii — Imprisoned, 14 years
- Denis Lialka — Imprisoned, 14 years
- Sergei Ofitserov — Imprisoned, 18 years
- Konstantin Reznik — Imprisoned, 20 years
- Iurii Tavozhnianskii — Imprisoned, 18 years
Thematic group: The case of the attempted murder of the employees of the military-civil administration of Kherson region
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Details and sources
Full summary
A resident of the Kherson Region, Ukraine, a Red Cross volunteer. On August 5, 2022, he was detained by unidentified individuals who seized expensive medical equipment he was transporting, as well as money collected for humanitarian purposes. Kaev was placed in a pre-trial detention centre. The next day he was taken to Melitopol with a plastic bag placed over his head and brought into an administrative building where, according to him, he was beaten. Then he was taken to Kherson, where he was subjected to torture, including electric shocks; wires were attached to his genitals; he was beaten with kicks and with sticks on his back, arms, and feet; doused with water; had his mouth and face covered with a towel while water was poured over him. He was subjected to the so-called “monkey” position — his hands were tied, he was forced to wrap his arms around his knees, a rod was passed under his legs, and chairs were placed at either end so that he was suspended on the rod, which pressed into his muscles and tendons. Later, as he testified in court, a staged video of his detention was filmed, which was later broadcasted on the Rossiya 24 TV channel. In September, he and other detainees were forced to leave fingerprints on weapons and explosives. In October 2022, Kaev was taken to Simferopol, where he was charged with preparation for an act of international terrorism and formally remanded in custody. Kaev stated in court that he signed a confession without reading it. He was also beaten there. On October 14, he was transferred to Moscow. His lawyer noted that the case file states that “on August 5 Kaev’s criminal activity was suppressed,” yet it does not explain how he ended up in Simferopol. He was also charged with participation in a terrorist community. At the court hearing on May 15, 2025, where the case was examined on the merits, Kaev was brought in with visible injuries on his face. He said that he lost consciousness and hit his head after being forced to climb stairs in a squatting position in retaliation for a complaint he had previously filed regarding the conduct of escort officers. On January 30, 2026, Kaev was sentenced to 14 years in a strict regime colony.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Ukraine
Other people prosecuted under Article 205.4 part 2, Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.