The FSB initiated a criminal case of espionage against a 24-year-old resident of the occupied Melitopol, Leonid Popov, who was diagnosed with undifferentiated schizophrenia, reported «Important Stories»* citing the lawyer of the human rights organization Every Human Being Alexey Ladukhin.
Officially, the criminal case was initiated on August 15, but he disappeared back in April 2023 — literally a day before he was supposed to evacuate from the occupied Melitopol. In July 2023, three months after his disappearance, the young man was brought to the Melitopol hospital on the brink of death, weighing 40 kg with a height of almost two meters and barely understanding what was happening to him.
According to Popov's mother, he was a gifted child, but when the illness worsened, Leonid could not study and spoke incoherently, easily fell under the influence of others, and did not understand people's emotions. «Mom, you said there is hell, well, I was in hell. I was so afraid to fall asleep. Afraid that they would come and strangle me, kill me. And I wanted to drink so much, but they didn't give me water. But most of all, I wanted to eat. And they beat me hard,» Leonid said about his imprisonment.
Currently, Popov is in custody in Donetsk's SIZO-1, facing up to 20 years in a colony.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.
Photo: ASTRA