During a court session on January 29, prosecutors requested an eight-year sentence in a penal colony for saxophonist Andrey Shabanov, who is charged with inciting terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code), Net Freedoms reported.
The prosecutor argued that the court should consider "committing a crime of propagating, justifying, and supporting terrorism" as an aggravating circumstance.
Andrey Shabanov suffers from psoriatic spondyloarthritis, a skin disease that affects the joints and requires constant medical supervision.
The musician was detained in March 2024 and charged with inciting terrorism online. The case is linked to Facebook* posts in which Shabanov allegedly called for active resistance against the regime, including through sabotage and donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
For nearly six months, the administration of the Samara pre-trial detention center where Shabanov was held during the investigation and trial refused to provide him with medication. Even after media coverage and intervention by human rights defenders, he was still denied treatment. Shabanov stated that his health "would not withstand" imprisonment and described the extension of his detention as "murder."
