{
  "id": 6386268,
  "title": "Russian man sentenced to 14 years in prison for taking photos of military graves",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/russian-man-sentenced-to-14-years-in-prison-for-taking-photos-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T05:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Voice of Ukraine",
    "slug": "new-voice-of-ukraine",
    "url": "https://english.nv.ua/nation/russian-man-gets-14-years-for-high-treason-after-photographing-military-graves-50639746.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Russian court has sentenced Nikolai Shcherbakov, a 48-year-old man from Yaroslavl, to 14 years in a maximum-security prison, according to independent Russian news outlet Mediazona. The court found Shcherbakov guilty of high treason for allegedly photographing the graves of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine and sending the images to Ukrainian intelligence services. Prosecutors alleged that Shcherbakov systematically visited the cemetery to secretly take pictures of the military personnel's graves from October 2024 onwards. The exact location and detention details of Shcherbakov remain unclear, but the investigation appears to have begun last winter, with the case officially proceeding to trial in late July. This marks the first known instance of someone being convicted of high treason for photographing a cemetery in connection with the \"heroes of the Special Military Operation,\" as reported by Mediazona. In late June, several residents of Tomsk Oblast were similarly detained for filming military graves, according to Mediazona.",
  "summary": "A Russian court has sentenced Nikolai Shcherbakov, a 48-year-old resident of Yaroslavl, to 14 years in a maximum-security prison for high treason, independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported on August 7.",
  "key_points": [
    "Nikolai Shcherbakov sentenced to 14 years for high treason",
    "Photographed Ukrainian soldiers' graves from October 2024",
    "First conviction for cemetery photography in Special Military Operation"
  ],
  "editors_take": "This verdict sets a precedent for treating the photography of military graves as high treason, expanding the scope of what constitutes a threat to national security in Russia.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}