On 11 July 2023, Vyacheslav Lutor, a bank employee from St. Petersburg, was initially arrested in Moscow for petty hooliganism (Art. 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences), reportedly for swearing at Vnukovo airport. Subsequently, on July 14, he was detained for 15 days under the charge of disobeying a police officer's lawful demands (Article 19.3 of the CAO) after,according to the protocol, refusing to show his passport.

Following the conclusion of his second arrest on July 29, Lutor was then detained under a criminal case involving charges of high treason and involvement with a terrorist organisation, and he was placed in custody. Later, it was revealed that he also faced charges of clandestine cooperation with a foreign organisation. The accusations of state treason and terrorist organisation involvement were subsequently reclassified as preparation for these crimes.

A pivotal piece of evidence in the case was the discovery of "tactical boots" found in Lutor's bag at the time of his arrest, with the investigation asserting that he had purchased them under instructions from a recruiter. On 28 February 2024, Lutor was sentenced to ten years in a strict-regime penal colony.

You can read more about politically persecuted people in the Telegram channel OVD-Info LIVE and our politically motivated criminal prosecutions in Russia database