Russian court jails Canadian-Russian national for seven years in treason case: state media

16-Sep-2026

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Representational image: Main gate of a Russian court

A Russian court has convicted a Russian-Canadian national ​of treason and sentenced him to ‌seven years in a penal colony for work he did for for separatist movements based ​outside Russia, the RIA state news ​agency reported on September 16.

RIA reported that the ⁠man, whom it named as Nikolai ​Zyuzev, had been convicted of high treason ​for working to train leaders of “national liberation movements” among Russian ethnic minority groups abroad.

It cited Russia’s ​Federal Security Service as saying that ​his work had been aimed against the country’s sovereignty ‌and ⁠territorial integrity. RIA did not say how Zyuzev had pleaded to the treason charge.

Russia is home to dozens ​of ⁠indigenous ethnic minorities, from Muslim Tatars to Buddhist Buryats. RIA reported that Zyuzev had ⁠been ​arrested in Komi, an ethnic ​minority region in Russia’s Arctic north.