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15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2023 WORLD BASED on statistics from the first seven months of 2023, Russia is expected to witness a higher number of state treason cases in 2023 than in the previ- ous 20 years. The trials usually take place behind closed doors. While earlier high-risk groups included defense enterprise em- ployees, military personnel, and scientists with access to state se- crets, nowadays, practically an- yone can be accused of treason. The public is unable to access the details of these accusations, as the content of state secrets itself is deemed classified. Polina Evtushenko, 24 years old, was born and raised in Tolyatti until she was sudden- ly accused of state treason in mid-July 2023. On March 1, 2022, merely a week after the start of Russia's full-scale inva- sion of Ukraine, Polina shared a link on her Instagram page to a petition for the impeach- ment of Vladimir Putin. She also published several anti-war posts. It is possible that one of these Instagram posts served as a foundation for her accusa- tion. Now Polina is detained and confined to a pre-trial deten- tion center in the village of Kryazh in the Samara region, far away from her daughter. 'Spies' and 'traitors' In just the first seven months of this year, there have been four times as many cases of treason initiated than in the entire year of 2022 (82 cases from January to July in 2023 versus 20 cases in 2022). Evgeny Smirnov, a lawyer from Perviy Otdel [a non-prof- it association of lawyers that assists in political cases in Rus- sia] emphasises: "Many of the cases we are monitoring lack case files on court websites. I believe that there may be twice as many cases in reality." All terms and articles in the current legislation are very broad and vague, making it dif- ficult even for lawyers or law enforcement officials to inter- pret the law unequivocally. According to Smirnov, near- ly anyone unfamiliar with real cases of treason could unwit- tingly disclose a state secret in casual conversation. One treason case a day The geographic distribution of criminal cases has shifted significantly. Smirnov states, "Previously, 90 percent of cas- es were concentrated in Mos- cow, with the remaining 10% in Krasnodar, Saint Petersburg, and occasionally Khabarovsk. However, following the full- scale invasion, cases of treason and espionage have become more prevalent in the regions." In the beginning, investiga- tions in the regions took a lot of time. "Now, the FSB has picked up its pace: on average, around 20 criminal cases are initiated per month," says Smirnov. "This means that one case is initiated every working day." The first case of siding with the enemy in 2023 was initiat- ed on the very first working day of the new year, January 9. The report states that the detainee "attempted to travel to Ukraine to participate in combat ac- tions on the side of the VSU." Every single detail of this case remains unknown: it's classi- fied. Smirnov states that investi- gators follow a pattern: "One case mirrors another, only the surnames change." He also told Holod that lawyers from the "Perviy Otdel" have recently received many testimonies in- dicating that detainees were tortured. No acquittal According to Holod, between January 1 and July 31, 2023, the media disclosed at least 22 ver- dicts in cases of treason. The average prison term for "trai- tors" is 11.5 years of strict re- gime imprisonment. As of to- day, there hasn't been a single acquittal in cases of treason. Prominent individuals sen- tenced for treason in the first half of 2023 include politician Vladimir Kara-Murza (sen- tenced to 25 years in a strict re- gime colony), businessman and Group-IB founder Ilya Sachkov (14 years in a strict regime col- ony and USD 5500 fine), and scientist Valery Golubkin (12 years in a strict regime colony). Yet, it is ordinary Russian cit- izens who are in danger. Game without rules Evgeny Smirnov firmly be- lieves that cases of treason and espionage are essential for the state to maintain societal ten- sion. "When the 'red lines' are clearly defined, a person knows what can be done and what cannot. In recent years, the state intentionally formulates laws so that a person does not know but only feels what is al- lowed and what is prohibited," he says. On July 21, the first crimi- nal case in Russia involving a financial transfer to Ukraine using cryptocurrencies was in- itiated. The young woman Polina Ev- tushenko probably did not sus- pect that her Instagram posts with just eight likes could be considered state treason. Evg- eny Smirnov informed Holod that she could face up to 15 years of imprisonment. Tomorrow, anyone could find themselves charged with state treason. The only way to remain on the safe side is to avoid any communication with foreign- ers, not read or watch any news other than state-owned media, show no interest in anything, and not ask friends about an- ything or post anything on so- cial media. As George Orwell wrote, "If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself." One traitor a day: The state of treason cases in Russia Photo by Valery Tenevoy on Unsplash