Farida Kurbangaleeva, a former journalist, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in absentia for promoting terrorism and disseminating false information about the Russian Armed Forces. The Second Western District Military Court also sentenced Alexei Baranovsky, another defendant in the case, to six years of imprisonment in absentia.

Kurbangaleeva, who currently resides abroad, was found guilty of publishing a video in May 2024 that allegedly contained calls for terrorism and its justification. Additionally, she was accused of posting unreliable data about the Russian military’s actions during the Special Military Operation (SMO) in January 2023.

The state prosecution had requested similar terms for both defendants. Both Kurbangaleeva and Baranovsky have been banned from administering websites for four years. Their lawyers plan to appeal the verdict.

The court’s sentence for Kurbangaleeva will be calculated from the moment of her detention upon crossing the Russian border or her extradition. Both Kurbangaleeva and Baranovsky have been arrested in absentia and are on the international wanted list.

*Both Kurbangaleeva and Baranovsky have been designated as foreign agents in the Russian Federation and included in the list of terrorists and extremists.