LPR court sentences OSCE employee to 13 years for high treason

The Lugansk People’s Republic Supreme Court has sentenced an employee of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to 13 years in jail for high treason.

“A panel of judges found Dmitry Shabanov guilty of the crime covered by LPR Criminal Code Article 335 and sentenced him to 13 years in prison,” the Court said.

Shabanov can appeal the verdict within ten days.

Earlier, the LPR State Security Ministry press service reported that the Supreme Court had begun to hear a high treason case against an LPR resident who was an OSCE employee.

MGB officers had detained two OSCE SMM Lugansk Team member on suspicion of high treason. One of the detainees admitted passing sensitive information to foreign secret services. The LPR MGB also recorded facts of sabotage carried out by LPR residents as members of the OSCE SMM Lugansk team.

LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik banned the operation of the OSCE SMM in the Republic. Pasechink said that the OSCE SMM had not contributed to the settlement of the Donbass conflict even once in the eight years.

The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. The Donbass peace talks participants have announced ceasefire more than 20 times since the autumn of 2014. Kiev forces regularly violated the truce opening fire with large caliber artillery, mortars and tank guns which were to have been withdrawn from the contact line under the accords. *i*s