Donetsk, Oct 22 - DAN. Ukrainian journalist Stanislav Aseyev has been sentenced to 15 years in the Donetsk People’s Republic for espionage and other offences, the DPR Prosecutor General’s Office told the Donetsk News Agency on Tuesday.

The case against Aseyev was investigated by the State Security Ministry and supervised by the PGO.

“In August, the DPR Supreme Court Appeals Chamber found Stanislav Aseyev guilty of crimes covered by DPR Criminal Code Article 329, Part 3 (organisation of extremist community), Article 321 (espionage), Article 32, Part 4 and Article 321 (inciting to blackmail), Article 325, Part 1 (public calls for extremist activities), Article 326, Part 2 (public calls for actions violating territorial integrity). Aseyev was sentenced to 15 years in a maximum security prison and deprived of the right to engage in journalism for two years and six months, with one-year restriction of freedom, prosecutors said adding that the verdict had come into force.

The investigators said that from March 2015 to May 2017, Aseyev conducted visual reconnaissance of the location of DPR People’s Militia units and reported it to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) using the Internet, while being aware that the gathered intelligence could be used against the Republic’s security. Also, using his profession as a cover, he recruited pro-Ukrainian social media users for gathering and passing sensitive military data or other information that could be used against the Republic’s security. *jk