Veryanov Andrey Evgenievich

In December 2023, a 53-year-old geophysicist and archaeologist Andrey Veryanov was detained in Moscow. He was accused of treason. According to the FSB, Veryanov was in contact with the "Freedom of Russia" legion and was engaged in countering Russian air defense - "assembling and launching unmanned aerial vehicles to create false targets in close proximity to the objects of the Ministry of Defense of Russia. Veryanov came to Russia to his elderly mother from Peru, where he had lived for the last 20 years. According to the scientist himself, he was planning to return, but the war started, and "for his views and words about people who, in his opinion, unleashed the war, he was arrested. On December 5, 2023, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow sent Veryanov to a pre-trial detention center. Later, the charges against the scientist were toughened - an article on participation in the activities of a terrorist organization was added. On May 23, 2025, the 2nd Western Military District Court found Andrey Veryanov guilty and sentenced him to 24 years of imprisonment in a strict regime colony, with the first 6 years to be served in prison, and a fine of 500 thousand." "rubles and a one-year restriction of freedom after release." on November 24, 2025, the Appellate Military Court left the sentence unchanged.