Get you up to speed: Girl, 15, sent to ‘hellhole’ penal colony by Russian court for being ‘Ukrainian spy’ | News World
A Russian military court has sentenced a 15-year-old schoolgirl to five years in a penal colony for attempting to set fire to railway signalling equipment at Bugach station on the Trans Siberian Railway. The court labelled her a ‘Ukrainian spy’ and a ‘terrorist’ despite confirming there was no impact on train movements.
The girl was sentenced under Russian law, which holds individuals criminally responsible for such offences from the age of 14. Data from the Russian Supreme Court indicates that at least 158 minors have been convicted of terrorism and sabotage-related offences since the onset of the full-scale war.
The Russian Investigative Committee cautioned that “foreign intelligence agencies actively recruit teenagers” and urged anyone approached for unlawful acts to contact law enforcement. Following the girl’s sentencing, independent investigators reported that at least 158 minors have faced terrorism-related convictions in the past three years amid ongoing efforts by Russian authorities to identify perceived enemies.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how the schoolgirl’s recruitment occurred or the identity of her handler.
Russian court sentences 15-year-old girl to five years in penal colony for attempted railway arson
A Russian military court has jailed a schoolgirl as a ‘Ukrainian spy’ and branded her a ‘terrorist’ for allegedly trying to attack a railway when she was 14.
The girl, now 15, has been jailed for five years in a penal colony for seeking to set fire to railway signalling equipment at Bugach station on the Trans Siberian Railway.
There was no impact on train movements, and she reported her attempt to her handler ‘based outside Russia’, a term seen as a euphemism for Ukrainian secret services.
The Russian Investigative Committee said foreign intelligence agencies actively recruit teenagers to take part in sabotage and terrorist activities, using social media and popular messaging apps.
They said: ‘Anyone who receives an offer to commit an unlawful act should contact law enforcement.
A Russian schoolgirl, 15, has been jailed for five years (Picture: Investigative Committee/east2wes)
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‘Criminal responsibility for these offences begins at the age of 14 and carries severe penalties, including lengthy prison sentences.’
The schoolgirl said she had been offered £182 to carry out the arson attack.
She said: ‘They just messaged me. The job involved damaging property…at first, I didn’t want to do it at all. I told them that if it was anything illegal, I certainly wouldn’t take part.’
Her handler ‘even gave advice on how to carry it out as safely as possible’.
The girl, now 15, said she was recruited on social media (Picture: Investigative Committee/east2wes)
The girl added: ‘I hid the clothes I was wearing when the crime was committed….so I could wash them later, so my parents wouldn’t notice.’
At least 158 minors were convicted of terrorism and sabotage-related offences in the first three years of the full-scale war, according to an analysis of Russian Supreme Court figures.
Independent investigators have documented hundreds of teenage suspects as Russian secret services scour for enemies of Putin’s state.
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