Chelyabinsk Resident Accused of Hiding Citizenship and Inciting Terrorism

The investigation was completed by the Investigative Department for Leninsky District of Chelyabinsk of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Chelyabinsk Oblast (ICR Chelyabinsk). The defendant is a 49-year-old local resident charged under three articles: failure to fulfill the duty to notify of foreign citizenship (Article 330.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), public calls for terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), and public calls for extremism (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code). Employees of the Federal Security Service Directorate for Chelyabinsk Oblast (FSB Chelyabinsk) identified these crimes and provided operational support.

The defendant, holding a Russian passport, obtained citizenship of another state. However, he did not report this to the authorized bodies, although the obligation to notify is enshrined in law. The man permanently resided and was registered in Chelyabinsk, so he had a real opportunity to contact the migration department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in person or through the State Services portal, but intentionally failed to do so for an extended period.

From January to May 2024, the defendant, while outside Russia, wrote comments in an open chat of one of the Telegram channels through his account in a popular messenger. In these messages, he publicly called for terrorist and extremist activities, driven by motives of political and national hatred and enmity.

The investigation collected a sufficient body of evidence. The criminal case, with the approved indictment, has been sent to the Central District Military Court for consideration on the merits.