An oncologist from St Petersburg has been sentenced to 5.5 years in a penal colony for calling for the hanging of the Russian leadership.

The 1st Western District Military Court has found 51-year-old Dr Yegor Voshchinin, a physician at the Petrov Oncology Centre, guilty of inciting terrorism (part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code). This was reported by the St Petersburg courts’ press service.

He has also been banned from making posts online for two years.

Voshchinin has been in custody since July 2025. He requested a less restrictive measure, highlighting that before his arrest he supported four children and his father, who has a disability.

The prosecution was prompted by comments made on Telegram and published in 2023–2024. As reported by the court’s press service, Voshchinin called for the hanging of the Russian leadership in these comments. During one of the court hearings, it became known that these comments mentioned State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and President Vladimir Putin.

The news has been updated to specify who was mentioned in Voshchinin’s comments.