Alexey Shchus

A resident of Sochi, an engineer. He lost his job several times due to disagreement with the actions of the Russian authorities. On 23 May 2024, a case was brought against him for disseminating deliberately false information about the Russian Armed Forces. Shchus was forced to sign the undertaking not to leave the place of residence. On 15 of August 2024, he was taken into custody, the charge under the article on the "fakes" about the Russian Armed Forces was reclassified to a more serious part, imputing the presence of a political hatred motive, and was also accused of illegal manufacture of weapons: at Shchus' home they found a homemade object that could be used to shoot metal balls through a piston tube by tensioning the bowstring. The expert examination recognised the object as a small throwing weapon. The defence insisted that the strength of the bowstring tension matched the characteristics of bows and crossbows for recreational use. On 17 January 2025, the engineer was sentenced to five and a half years in a general regime penal colony.