An archaeologist from Rostov-on-Don was sentenced to 24 years in prison for treason.

Rostov-on-Don native Andrei Veryanov, according to the FSB, collaborated with Ukrainian intelligence services and was tasked with blowing up the plane of a high-ranking Russian official.

The case of 55-year-old Andrei Veryanov was heard by the 2nd Western District Military Court. The guilty verdict against the Rostov-on-Don native came into force on November 26.

Veryanov was convicted of treason 1 and participation in a terrorist organization 2 . His case file was previously classified, and the charges were not disclosed during the trial.

According to the FSB, in April 2023, he "proactively established confidential cooperation" with a terrorist organization banned in Russia. At the same time, security officials claim, he contacted a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine to assist its employees "in activities directed against the security" of the Russian Federation.

According to the court verdict, Veryanov, while carrying out a task assigned by his "curator," gathered information about the location of air defense systems in the Moscow region and attempted to identify vulnerabilities in their operation by assembling and launching a drone. "He also received the task of blowing up an aircraft belonging to a high-ranking official of the Russian Federation," according to a statement published on November 26 by the FSB press service on the agency's website. The statement does not specify which banned organization Andrei Veryanov was collaborating with.

The court sentenced a Rostov-on-Don native to 24 years in a maximum-security prison and a fine of 500,000 rubles. Ver'yanov's sentence was handed down at first instance on July 4, and it was upheld by the appellate military court in Vlasikha in November, according to the human rights project "Politzek-Info"*.

Andrey Ver'yanov is a renowned geophysicist and archaeologist who worked in Peru for over 20 years, making several important discoveries while studying the Inca citadel and temple complex of Sacsayhuaman. He came to Russia in 2019 to care for an ailing relative, after which he was unable to leave the country. "From the moment I arrived in Russia, I couldn't accept the nightmare the country had plunged into. I went to protests and rallies as best I could," the First Department* law firm quoted his letter from the Lefortovo pretrial detention center. According to their information, Veryanov took on the job of teaching his fellow inmates Spanish in the pretrial detention center. Andrei Veryanov no longer has any family or friends in Russia.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.