A Gelendzhik resident has been convicted of inciting terrorism.

A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Fyodor Kuznetsov, a resident of Gelendzhik, to prison, deeming his pacifist post on a messenger app to be a call for change in the constitutional order.

Fyodor Kuznetsov, a 47-year-old resident of Gelendzhik, was charged with inciting terrorist activity (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code carries a sentence of five to seven years in prison). His case has been heard by the Southern District Military Court since June.

The case states that Kuznetsov was "an opponent of a special military operation being conducted on the territory of Ukraine." According to the prosecution, in September 2022, he posted a message in a publicly accessible group on a messenger app, which security forces deemed to contain calls for violent change in the constitutional order of the Russian Federation. Such calls are classified as calls for terrorism, according to a statement from the Kuban Prosecutor's Office.

The prosecutor's office did not indicate whether the Gelendzhik resident admitted his guilt. The court sentenced Kuznetsov to two years and six months in prison and a ban on internet administrating for two years after his release. Caucasian Knot has not yet received any comments from the defendant or his lawyer regarding the sentences or appeal plans.

According to the records of the Southern District Military Court, Fyodor Kuznetsov's case was heard in three sessions, and the verdict was handed down on September 17.

At the same time, another judge in the same court was hearing a similar case against Larisa Kuznetsova. The two defendants, in addition to their last names, have the same patronymics. Their cases were filed with the court on the same day, but Larisa Kuznetsova's verdict was handed down earlier, on August 25. The court's press service did not report on the content of Larisa Kuznetsova's case; the verdict in her case has not yet been published, although it came into force on September 10.

"Caucasian Knot" also wrote that in May the court sentenced three Krasnodar residents to lengthy prison terms, finding them guilty of creating a staged video to promote terrorist acts.

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