Russia is seeking new charges against Nikita Uvarov, a teenager arrested in 2020 for putting up political leaflets on buildings belonging to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
In June 2020, then-14-year-old Uvarov was arrested alongside two friends in the Siberian city of Kansk after the FSB tracked them down following the leaflet distribution. The case was known as the Kansk affair in Russia.
During the trials, the FSB presented the teenagers’ Minecraft gameplay as evidence, claiming they had blown up an FSB building in-game to prepare for real-world scenarios. Uvarov was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison on terrorism charges, according to BBC Russia.
A Russian activist group said on Friday that Russia’s Investigative Committee seeks additional charges tied to extremism against Uvarov based on audio recordings obtained in jail.
“The Support Group has learned that Nikita Uvarov has been charged with a new offense. Now, in addition to ‘participating in the activities of an extremist organization’ (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code), he is also accused of ‘involving’ him in its activities (Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code),” the update says.
The group noted that the new charges could bring a combined 12 years of additional sentence.
The new charges implicate Uvarov in the extremist AUE movement, which the group argued was non-existent.
Uvarov was slated for release in March 2026, but authorities charged him a month before his release with “participating in the activities of an extremist organization.”
During his previous sentence in 2022, then-16-year-old Uvarov denied the charges.
“I’m a kid who wanted to be friends and hang out with friends. I’m not a terrorist,” he said, according to BBC Russia’s report at the time.
“If I’m given a real sentence, I’ll serve it with a clear conscience and dignity. I’ll be at peace, because I never taught my friends anything bad; we were equals and simply friends,” he added.
His two friends were released without charges.