Denis Lialka
Denis Lialka, born 1988, 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 · Former military personnel · 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; from March to August 2022, he carried out surveillance of places visited and routes used by officials of the Kherson region military-civil administration and servicemen of the Russian Federation “for the subsequent commission of acts of international terrorism”. Together with another defendant in the case, Yurii Kaiev, in the period from 2 to 4 August 2022 they manufactured “a radio-controlled improvised explosive device of fragmentation high-explosive effect, of an electrical type, 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
- Iurii Kaev — Imprisoned, 14 years
- Sergei Kovalskii — 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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The address is not listed in the database.
Details and sources
Full summary
A resident of Kherson (Ukraine), a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 24 April 2022, according to his own statements, he returned home and decided to stay there, to be a volunteer and to engage in the wholesale sale and supply of household chemicals and food products. On 6 August (according to other data — 14 July) 2022, he was detained and beaten in his apartment, after which he was taken to the basement of an MVD building, where he was tortured with electric shocks and beaten, being required to provide contacts of officers of the SBU and Ukrainian intelligence, as well as the location of weapons and caches. After the beatings, he was hung on a grate, then beaten again and again hung, and shots were fired near him. Before a polygraph examination, he was told that if he failed it, he would die in the torture chamber. According to his own statements, he signed confessional statements under the threat of being shot. Lyalyka also stated that he and others prosecuted in the case were forced to leave fingerprints on weapons and components of explosives. On 6 October 2022, he was taken to Simferopol; up to the border he was transported in a car trunk together with another defendant in the case, Konstantin Reznik, and at the border they were transferred to a bus. Shortly before the transfer, Lialyka was forced to sign certain sheets, the contents of which were unknown to him. In the remand prison in Simferopol, Lialyka was also beaten. There he was charged with preparation for the commission of an act of international terrorism. He was later taken to Moscow. Subsequently, he gave confessional statements to correspondents of “Rossiia 24”. Lialyka was also charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist community. In court, he retracted his confessional statements. On 30 January 2026, he was sentenced to 14 years in a strict-regime penal 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.