Week-ending 21 August 2020
On 19 August, 2020, The Moscow Times reported that, on 6 August 2020, YouTuber Andrei Pyzh was remanded in custody on charges of obtaining and disseminating state secrets under Article 283 of the Russian Criminal Code.
Article 283. Disclosure of a State Secret
“1. Disclosure of information comprising a state secret, by a person to whom it has been entrusted or to whom it has become known through his office or work, if this information has become the property of other persons, in the absence of the characteristic features of high treason, shall be punishable by arrest for a term of four to six months, or by deprivation of liberty for up to four years, with disqualification to hold specified offices or to engage in specified activities for a term of up to three years, or without such disqualification.
2. The same deed, which involved through negligence grave consequences,
shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of three to seven years, with disqualification to hold specified offices or to engage in specified activities for a term of up to three years.”
Source: The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
On Wednesday, 19 July 2020, The Moscow Times reported that the popular urban exploration YouTuber Andrei Pyzh is suspected of sending secret information about the Moscow metro to Ukraine. Pyzh was remanded in custody on 6 August on charges of obtaining and spreading state secrets. “He’s charged with transporting data related to metro lines in Moscow to Ukraine,” TASS reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed law enforcement source. Pyzh is also suspected of taking information related to Metro-2, an alleged secret underground metro system, the source said. Pyzh faces between three and eight years in jail if found guilty of illegally obtaining and disseminating state secrets.
