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The 2nd Western District Military Court has sentenced 37-year-old programmer and Communist Party (CPRF) member Denis Vashchuk to nine years in prison for financing terrorism (part 1.1 of article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code). He must spend the first three years in a penal facility, and was also fined 400,000 rubles (US$4,400). This was reported by Mediazona, quoting Eva Merkachyova, a member of the Human Rights Council.
According to Merkachyova, Vashchuk transferred money to a “mentally unwell Muscovite,” and the programmer’s fate was decided in just two court hearings.
“I can’t remember a case where such serious charges with such a severe sentence were considered so quickly,” wrote the human rights advocate.
The criminal prosecution was triggered by a transfer of 700 rubles (US$8) to an acquaintance who, according to the investigation, intended to travel to Ukraine and join an organisation banned in Russia. Vashchuk did not plead guilty.
As previously reported by MSK1, the acquaintance initially asked Vashchuk for 3,000 rubles for a trip to Ukraine, but Vashchuk refused. Later, the programmer was contacted by the man’s mother, who asked for help getting her son back to Moscow. At that point, Vashchuk transferred him 700 rubles. According to the defence, the case file includes evidence that these funds were used to buy a ticket to Moscow, and correspondence shows that the programmer refused to pay for the trip to Ukraine.
Vashchuk’s acquaintance was later detained in a case relating to attempting to join banned organisations. He was found to be legally incapable, according to Mediazona citing a lawyer. The programmer himself was detained in December 2025, and in January 2026 a criminal case was opened against him, with the charges subsequently being changed several times.