That is according to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center (CTRC), Ukrinform reports.

"The Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation unlawfully sentenced 30-year-old Ukrainian citizen Yan Hauft to 24 years in prison, allegedly for preparing and committing a 'terrorist attack.' He is to serve the first five years in prison and the remainder of his sentence in a maximum-security penal colony. The court also imposed a fine of 700,000 rubles," the statement said.

According to Russian investigators, Hauft, who previously lived in temporarily occupied Crimea and later moved to Krasnodar, allegedly established contact with a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine between March 2022 and May 2025 and "agreed" to cooperate confidentially with the Ukrainian intelligence service.

The Russian side also claims that on May 12, 2025, he allegedly received instructions to prepare and carry out a "terrorist attack" in the Krasnodar region, as well as the coordinates of a cache containing an improvised explosive device. According to the same claims, the man allegedly went to the designated cache, "retrieved" the explosive device, "moved" it to another location and allegedly kept it there while awaiting further instructions.

According to reports, Hauft is a native of Kyiv. In 2019, he moved to temporarily occupied Crimea, where his fiancée lived. His relocation was also related to his health: he has suffered from asthma since childhood, and the climate in Crimea helped alleviate his condition. After security risks on the peninsula intensified in 2024, he and his fiancée moved to Krasnodar.

On May 15, 2025, the man was detained following a search of his rented apartment. He was initially arrested for allegedly disobeying police officers and sentenced to administrative detention. After completing his administrative sentence, however, he was not released. Instead, FSB officers opened a criminal case against him, charging him under Article 205, Part 1 of the Russian Criminal Code for "preparing a terrorist attack"; Article 222 for "illegal possession of explosives"; and Article 274 for "violating rules governing the operation of facilities for storing, processing or transmitting computer information and information and telecommunications networks." On June 25, 2025, he was also added to Russia's federal list of "terrorists and extremists."

Hauft graduated from the Kyiv College of Hotel Management. At the time of his detention, he worked as an office manager at a computer game development company.

"He did not pass on any classified information related to IT development or programming, as he did not even have access to it. Yan is not a terrorist but another victim of politically motivated persecution of Ukrainian citizens by the Russian authorities," human rights activists said.

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According to the CTRC, while in detention, Hauft was systematically subjected to cruel treatment and torture and now suffers from severe headaches. He is currently being unlawfully held at Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don.

"Yan is the only son of elderly parents. His mother, who has a disability, is suffering greatly from the persecution of her son, and the constant psychological stress poses a serious threat to her life as well," the CTRC added.

Photo: Freepik/jcomp