The US Department of Homeland Security added 27 Ukrainian citizens to an online database of foreign nationals detained for various crimes, which the agency calls the “worst of the worst“.
The department specifies that the database includes some of the most dangerous criminals among foreign nationals detained over the past 11 months by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service, which specializes in detecting and deporting illegal immigrants from the United States.
The list includes 27 Ukrainian citizens - more than any other country from the former Soviet Union. Some of these Ukrainians have been convicted of robbery, fraud, armed assault, drug trafficking and sex crimes.
Most of the people on the list are citizens of Latin American countries, which are the source of many illegal immigrants to the United States. Among those included are several thousand Mexicans.
A Russian court sentenced Sergei Udaltsov, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to 6 years in prison, the Associated Press reported, quoted by dariknews.bg.
The sentence was imposed on charges of condoning terrorism.
Udaltsov is the leader of the “Left Front“ movement, which opposes Putin and is affiliated with the Russian Communist Party. Udaltsov was arrested last year.
According to the independent Russian news site “Mediazona“ The charges against Udaltsov stem from a post he posted online in support of another group of Russian activists accused by authorities of forming a terrorist organization. The activists were sentenced earlier this month to between 16 and 22 years in prison.
Udaltsov called the charges against him fabricated. He called the court's decision shameful.
According to the court's decision, Udaltsov will serve his sentence in a maximum-security penal colony.
Udaltsov was an influential opposition figure in Russia during the 2011-2012 mass protests sparked by allegations of widespread fraud in parliamentary elections. In February 2012, he participated in a rally that then-President Dmitry Medvedev held with a number of opposition figures.
Russian authorities have stepped up their crackdown on dissent and freedom of speech since the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine. In December 2023, a Moscow court sentenced Udaltsov to 40 hours of forced labor for violating procedures related to organizing a rally after he was detained in Red Square, where he attempted to unfurl a banner depicting Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
Udaltsov was also imprisoned in 2014 and sentenced to 4 1/2 years on charges related to his role in organizing a 2012 anti-Putin demonstration that turned into violent protests. He was released in 2017.