A Dagestani resident has been accused of confidential collaboration with foreigners.

Mirzabeg Murtazaliev, a system administrator from the village of Botlikh, faces up to eight years in prison for confidential cooperation with foreigners. Murtazaliev's case has been submitted to the Supreme Court of Dagestan.

Mirzabeg Murtazaliev's case was submitted to the Supreme Court of Dagestan on February 9, according to the case file brought to Mediazona's attention*.

According to the publication, Murtazaliev is 24 years old and a resident of the village of Botlikh. He worked as a system administrator and offered his services as such on professional websites more than a year ago.

According to leaked information, Murtazaliev was at large until at least February 2025, when he underwent tests at a private clinic. Court records indicate that a hearing to decide whether to extend Murtazaliev's pretrial detention is scheduled for February 13. There is no information on when exactly he was detained, and the details of the case are also unknown.

Human rights activists insist that the article on confidential cooperation with foreigners itself be repealed, as it contradicts the principle of legal certainty. "The criminality of the act provided for by this article is connected exclusively with the fact of interaction between a Russian citizen and foreigners, to whom the presumption of hostility applies, while the subject of the crime is presumed to be aware of the future use by foreigners of the results of his legal activity. Such a construction is not only legally untenable, but also simply absurd," point out representatives of the human rights project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial"*.

Lawyer Evgeny Smirnov, in turn, notes that "these articles are formulated legally incorrectly," and the article itself is essentially a "lightweight version" of the article on treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, up to 20 years' imprisonment or life imprisonment).

"Current law enforcement practice and legal provisions allow us to say that treason requires carrying out some task assigned by a "representative" of a foreign state, revealing state secrets, or defecting to the enemy, while for 275.1, it is sufficient to contact such a representative or distribute their materials," the website of the First Department* law firm quotes his comment.

* Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.