Russian man sentenced after swimming from Kaliningrad to Lithuania

Igor Yuryevich Odintsov, a 68-year-old Russian man, has been sentenced to six years in a strict-regime penal colony in Russia. The sentence follows his attempt to seek asylum in Lithuania by swimming across the Nemunas River from the Kaliningrad exclave on September 17.

Russia’s Baltic Fleet Military Court convicted Odintsov of publicly justifying terrorism and expressing opposition to state authorities. The court also imposed a three-year ban on his ability to administer websites or online channels following his release.