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Teenage Activist Jailed 7 Years Over Alleged Plot to Kill Russian Soldier

Gagik Grigoryan. SOTAvision

An 18-year-old left-wing activist in Russia was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of attempting to kill a Russian soldier, the independent news website Mediazona reported Wednesday.

Gagik Grigoryan was in 11th grade when he was arrested in October 2023 and added to Russia’s federal list of “terrorists and extremists” days later.

In a rare letter last summer, Grigoryan told allies from the Left Socialist Action political group that he had been accused of “plotting the liquidation of a lieutenant colonel of the Russian army.” The group said few other details were known about his case, which was heard behind closed doors.

The Left Socialist Action suggested that Grigoryan’s parents and lawyers avoided media attention in hopes of securing leniency from the court.

A military court in Moscow found Grigoryan guilty of state treason, preparing a terrorist act, membership in a terrorist group and possession of explosives, Mediazona reported. The judge acquitted him on a fifth charge of smuggling explosives.

Grigoryan was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 40,000 rubles ($400). It was unclear what sentence prosecutors had requested.

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