Native of Karachay-Cherkessia sentenced to life imprisonment for passing information on prisoners recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine and the prison staff who recruited them

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced Alexei Kaplunov to life imprisonment. According to the prosecution, while serving a sentence at a correctional facility in Stavropol Krai, he passed on information to the Freedom of Russia Legion about prisoners who had been recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine and about prison staff involved in their recruitment. The court’s press office announced the verdict on 10 August.

He is to serve the first six years of his sentence in prison, with the remainder in a special-regime penal colony. He was convicted of treason under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code and participation in a terrorist organisation under Part 2 of Article 205.5.

According to the court, Alexei Kaplunov made contact with a representative of the Legion between 2 and 3 June 2024, sending an audio message volunteering to join the organisation. Between 3 and 15 June 2024, he gathered and passed on information about staff involved in selecting prisoners willing to take part in the ‘special military operation’ and about ‘prisoners deployed to the war’. According to the prosecution, he also passed on information about staff responsible for overseeing security at the facility.

Kommersant reported that Alexei Kaplunov had previously served a sentence for armed robbery, a conviction that has since been spent. It is not known whether he was released after completing that sentence and subsequently detained, or whether the new prosecution began while he was still imprisoned. He was added to Russia’s list of terrorists in December 2024.

The offence of treason carries the possibility of a life sentence, although Russian courts have made relatively little use of this option so far. Our project’s database contains only three people charged under this article who have received life sentences. Two of them were also charged with committing a terrorist act. Only one — Mikhail Repin, a dual Ukrainian and Russian citizen who fought with Azov — received a life sentence under the same articles as Alexei Kaplunov.