15‑year-olds in Russia sentenced for "terrorism" over CAD 11 damage

Two 15-year-olds, Jegor Lauskis and Artem Doronin, were convicted of terrorism by a military court in St. Petersburg. The boys received sentences of two and four years in a penal colony. This was their punishment for setting fire to a relay cabinet valued at about CAD 11. In the country, they were considered terrorists and were severely punished.

Further reports from Russia are alarming. According to local propaganda, the two teenagers were preparing a terrorist attack in St. Petersburg.

According to the Russian prosecutor's office investigation, the alleged "attack" occurred on September 16, 2023. The two 15-year-olds set fire to a relay cabinet near the "Lakhta" railway station in St. Petersburg. The damage caused by this "attack" was valued at 758 rubles (about CAD 11).

Students in Russia were convicted of "terrorism." There was nothing related to terrorism in their actions. Eighth-grader Artem Doronin was sentenced to four years in a colony for attempting to set fire to a relay cabinet, and his friend Jegor Lauskis was sentenced to two years. Grass burning was considered "terrorism," and the damage amounted to less than CAD 13, reported the Nexta agency.

According to Russian propaganda, the teenagers were recruited by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and encouraged to set fire to a locomotive in their hometown. When they refused, they were allegedly blackmailed with threats that screenshots of their conversations on a messenger would be handed over to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB).

Cornered, the teenagers allegedly decided to stage a "terrorist attack." They set fire to a relay box near the station in St. Petersburg.

Both teenagers were detained on September 18, 2023. During a search of their homes, a phone and a laptop were found. The screens allegedly displayed the Ukrainian coat of arms and flag. In the browser history of one of the computers, the prosecutor's office found: "numerous queries about praising Hitler and Ukrainian nationalism, Nazi leaders, and searches for the names Stepan Bandera and Volodymyr Zelensky."

In April 2024, Doronin and Lauskis became the youngest "terrorists" listed as extremists and terrorists in Russia.