Novoshakhtinsk resident convicted of participating in terrorist organization

A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Novoshakhtinsk resident Kirill Solonin to 14 years in prison for involvement in a terrorist organization and cooperation with foreigners.

The case of Kirill Solonin was heard by the Southern District Military Court. The man was charged with participation in a terrorist community and participation in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.4 and Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and confidential cooperation with a foreign state (Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

According to the prosecution, Solonov studied the ideology of the nationalist paramilitary formation "Russian Volunteer Corps", recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia. In November 2022, while in Novoshakhtinsk, he sent his personal information to the organization's email address, stating that he was ready to join it and act in its interests, the court's press service reported today.

The investigation and the court found that Solonov, in an attempt to gain the trust of the organization's representatives, took upon himself in correspondence with them the arson of a police station in Novoshakhtinsk, which he had read about on the Internet.

On May 30, 2023, in correspondence with a member of the organization, Solonov "confirmed his readiness to continue participating" in its activities, again giving him his personal data and a photo of his passport. The investigation believes that he was going to use the skills he acquired during his military service and gleaned from publications about military operations on the Internet.

In court, Solonov fully admitted his guilt, according to a message on the official Telegram channel of the Southern District Military Court. He was sentenced to 14 years in a strict regime penal colony with the first three years to be served in prison.

The court has been considering Kirill Solonov's case since March. A year before the case was transferred to court, on March 14, 2024, the data of the Novoshakhtinsk native was entered into the register of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring. In May of this year, Solonov turned 30.

"Caucasian Knot" also wrote that at the end of June, the Southern District Military Court sentenced Novorossiysk resident Mikhail Komkov to 14 years in prison, finding him guilty of working for the Ukrainian special services.

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