Igor Siomik, 37, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after the First Western District Military Court of St. Petersburg overturned its previous acquittal in his case. The sentence includes three years in prison and the remainder in a strict regime penal colony.

The case revolves around allegations that Siomik financed the Azov terrorist organization, which is banned in Russia. The court found Siomik guilty of receiving 130,000 rubles in 2022-2023, which were allegedly used to support Azov.

In the spring of 2024, Siomik was initially acquitted due to the court finding the prosecution’s evidence untenable. However, the case was sent for review following an appeal. The retrial resulted in a guilty verdict, leading to the current 10-year sentence.

According to court representatives, the prosecution claimed Siomik was a supporter of the radical nationalist organization and met with an unidentified Azov member on November 1, 2022. It was alleged that Siomik received 20,000 rubles in cash and later 110,000 rubles via transfer, which he used to financially assist the banned organization.

Conflicting testimonies emerged during the trial. One witness claimed he had no recollection of discussing fundraising with Siomik and stated that he signed a statement without reading it due to being under the influence of alcohol at the time of questioning. Siomik’s wife testified that she regularly provided her husband with cash for deposits, which were used for various expenses. The defense argued that Siomik could not have made the transfers from the card in question.

Igor Siomik’s lawyer, Galina Orekhova, expressed her disagreement with the court’s decision, stating that evidence refuting the accusation of financing Azov was disregarded. Orekhova also noted that witnesses’ testimonies remained unchanged during the retrial.

Orekhova highlighted that two new witnesses testified that Siomik allegedly admitted to deceiving investigators about his support for Ukraine while in detention. However, another former prisoner, Andreev, testified that these witnesses knew Siomik and were aware of his claims of innocence. Andreev also alleged that one of the witnesses asked him to hide the indictment, a claim that the court reportedly ignored.