A Samara-based environmental activist has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on three charges, including state treason.

The Samara Regional Court has sentenced activist and artist Irina Izmailova, known for her involvement in the project “Recyclables for Charity,” to 20 years in prison, reports “First Department.”

She was also fined 250,000 roubles (approximately US$2,700). “Solidarity Zone” writes about an additional penalty of one and a half years of restricted liberty.

The 36-year-old Izmailova was accused of storing and manufacturing explosives (part 1 of article 222.1 and part 1 of article 223.1 of the Russian Criminal Code), as well as treason (article 275) in the form of “rendering other assistance to a foreign state in activities aimed against the security of the Russian Federation.”

According to the version of law enforcement, Izmailova, an opponent of the war, travelled to Moldova in autumn 2022, where she allegedly made contact with a Ukrainian intelligence officer named “Vitaly.” In May 2023, at his request, she is alleged to have manufactured an “unspecified amount” of explosives and subsequently handed them over to an “unknown person” via a stash. Law enforcement also claims that in July 2023, while in Turkey, she received headphones containing a concealed detonator from another handler.

The activist has been in custody since September 2023. Initially, she was charged only with manufacturing explosives. During questioning after a search, Izmailova admitted guilt and said she had acted on the instructions of “her handler, a Security Service of Ukraine officer.” At the time, neither her relatives nor her lawyer were allowed to be present for the search or the interrogation.

Izmailova’s loved ones do not believe she was prepared to take radical action. They think the explosives were planted on her.

According to her partner, Aleksandr Kudashev, the persecution of Izmailova is related to his joining the “Russian Volunteer Corps”. He said he wanted to keep Izmailova safe and did not tell her about his involvement in the war. Kudashev is currently wanted by the Russian authorities. Recently, reports emerged that in May he and his fellow soldiers came under fire and have since gone missing in action.

The activist holds anti-war views. A few months before her arrest, she went to visit her partner in Moldova for three months. While there, they volunteered together assisting Ukrainian refugees. After that, Izmailova returned to Samara, a major city on the Volga River.

Updated to add information about Kudashev’s disappearance in the conflict zone.