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Russian newlyweds handed prolonged jail phrases for ‘treason’ & ‘spying’ for NATO member plead with Putin for presidential pardon
A married couple given a mixed quarter of a century behind bars after being discovered responsible of treason have implored Russian President Vladimir Putin to safe their launch from jail.
Antonina Zimina and Konstantin Antonets have been convicted by a courtroom in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, of passing secret data to Latvian spies. Zimina now faces 13 years of incarceration, whereas her husband was sentenced to twelve-and-a-half years in a maximum-security penal colony. The pair have been additionally ordered to pay fines of 100,000 rubles ($ 1,300) every.
On Monday, Zimina’s father, Konstantin Zimin, informed TASS that “the petition for a pardon was submitted to the president of the Russian Federation. However [Antonina] nonetheless says she isn’t responsible.” Each defendants had appealed the case in January, and proceed to protest their innocence.
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Antonets is claimed to have had entry to delicate materials via his skilled ties with the native Ministry of the Financial system. Zimina was Director of the Baltic Centre for Cultural Dialogue, which means she had a broad community of ties to neighboring international locations, together with NATO member Latvia.
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Whereas many parts of the case stay secret, it has additionally been disclosed that they stand accused of publicizing details about a long-time good friend, Maxim Denisenko. Denisenko is claimed to be the top of the native directorate of the FSB, Russia’s prime home safety company. Reportedly, of the officer on the couple’s wedding ceremony in 2015 was uploaded to social media. Studies say that led to Denisenko’s cowl being blown.
Zimin, the daddy of the bride, nonetheless, informed the Noviy Kaliningrad newspaper that Denisenko drank closely on the wedding ceremony, earlier than allegedly telling different friends he was an FSB agent. The group of revelers is claimed to have included Latvian mates of the couple.
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