Key facts
- A Russian court convicted Nikolai Zyuzev, a Russian-Canadian national, of high treason.
- Zyuzev was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony.
- The conviction relates to work for separatist movements and distributing "extremist" materials for foreign organizations.
- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) stated Zyuzev's work aimed against the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
- Zyuzev was reportedly arrested in Komi, an ethnic minority region in Russia's Arctic north.
A Russian court has sentenced Nikolai Zyuzev, a Russian-Canadian national, to seven years in a penal colony after convicting him of high treason. State news agency RIA reported that Zyuzev was found guilty of working to train leaders of "national liberation movements" based outside Russia and distributing "extremist" materials for "European Union government bodies and think tanks."
The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Zyuzev's work was aimed against Russia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The specific nature of the analytical material Zyuzev prepared for unspecified foreign organizations remains undisclosed, according to Interfax. Zyuzev was reportedly arrested in Komi, an ethnic minority region in Russia's Arctic north.