A 68-year-old Russian man, identified by local media as Igor Yuryevich Odintsov, has been sentenced to six years in a maximum-security penal colony. The verdict was delivered by the Baltic Fleet Military Court following his failed attempt to seek asylum in Lithuania by swimming across the Nemunas River.
According to the court's press release, Odintsov was convicted on charges of "publicly justifying terrorism." The court further noted that the defendant held a "negative attitude towards the state authorities of the Russian Federation" and expressed opposition to Moscow’s war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin refers to as a "special military operation." In addition to the prison term, the court has prohibited him from managing online channels or websites for three years following his eventual release.
The sequence of events leading to the conviction began on September 17, when Odintsov went into hiding, prompting the suspension of ongoing court proceedings. On that same day, he successfully crossed the Nemunas River to reach the Lithuanian side. Sigitas Šamborskis, head of the Lithuanian community in Kaliningrad, stated that he was acquainted with the man and believed he was attempting to escape persecution. "He had a case opened against him, which is why he swam across the Nemunas. He wanted to save himself," Šamborskis explained, adding that the Lithuanian authorities lacked sufficient grounds to detain him at the time because the Russian case remained unconcluded.
Lithuanian officials initially processed the man, who claimed he was fleeing Russia due to persecution related to his social media activity. However, Giedrius Mišutis, a spokesperson for Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, stated that authorities decided to return him after finding "inconsistent" information and assessing the potential threat he posed to the EU. Odintsov was subsequently detained on September 21, and the court finalized its verdict during a hearing on September 30.
