A trial has begun in Moscow on charges of treason against a police officer who investigated crimes against children
The Moscow City Court has begun hearing the case of Ivan Semenikhin, an operative with the Main Directorate for Criminal Investigation of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, who is accused of high treason and unauthorized access to computer information resulting in serious consequences.
Semenikhin was arrested and sent to pretrial detention in February 2025. After a year and a half of investigation, he was additionally charged with unauthorized access to computer data.
For many years, Semenikhin specialized in investigating crimes against children and collaborated with foreign law enforcement agencies. In particular, in 2020, his contacts with foreign colleagues helped him locate a kidnapped seven-year-old boy from the Volodymyr region and apprehend the kidnapper.
Details of the case are unknown, as the trial will be held behind closed doors. It is not yet clear whether the charges of treason are related to Semenikhin’s contacts with foreign law enforcement agencies.
Earlier, the Russian occupation authorities sentenced a 24-year-old resident of the Donetsk region to 14 years in a maximum-security prison for allegedly passing information about the location of Russian troops in the Donetsk region to Ukrainian intelligence.
Previously, two residents of the Kramatorsk district were found guilty of treason and sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Andriy Gulak, a 61-year-old resident of the Donetsk region, to 5 years and 4 months in prison. The Russian side accused the man of allegedly participating in a terrorist group through his service in the “Azov” regiment.
