An employee of KudaGo has been sentenced to three years and six months in a penal colony over a comment about the RDK.

At the 1st Western District Military Court in St Petersburg, the prosecutor has requested four years and six months in prison for KudaGo employee Vakhtangi Rogava on charges of justifying terrorism (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by SOTAvision.

At the hearing, the prosecutor said Rogava was being charged over a comment in the WESTERLY Telegram channel: “What are you talking about, are you kidding? Those Russians don’t exist anymore, there are only a few left, among them by some miracle a small percentage of decent people remain, like the RDK,” the defendant wrote.

According to investigators, this amounted to Rogava approving of the actions of the Russian Volunteer Corps. They stated that Rogava was aware of the messenger app’s popularity and “deliberately aimed to spread terrorist ideology.”

Rogava expressed remorse for his actions. He cooperated with investigators and gave security officials access to his mobile phone. He also made donations to charity organisations. His lawyer did not contest the legal qualification of the crime but asked for mitigating factors to be considered, such as Rogava’s emotional state, which was confirmed by an expert assessment showing hot-temperedness and heightened emotionality. The defence also insisted that Rogava did not know the RDK had been declared a terrorist organisation.

In his closing statement, Rogava again said that he was remorseful. He added that in the four months spent in a pre-trial detention centre, he had realised that “things like this” should not be published, and promised to pay the fine immediately if released.

Rogava’s detention became known on 25 March. According to 78.ru, citing a source, the St Petersburg resident left “favourable comments under posts about the ‘successes’ of the terrorist organisation ‘Russian Volunteer Corps’ in battles against the Russian armed forces.” On 27 March, the man was sent to a remand centre, although he had requested a less restrictive measure.

Rogava is 31 years old, graduated from the St Petersburg Institute of Film and Television, and has recently been working as an advertising specialist at a large cultural events agency.

17:00 The 1st Western District Military Court has sentenced Vakhtangi Rogava to three years and six months in a penal colony. This was reported by SOTAvision.