[51717] Morning updates: Severe sentences in Russia and a ramming incident in Be'er Sheva

[51717] Morning updates: Severe sentences in Russia and a ramming incident in Be'er Sheva

A court in Russia sentenced physicists to prison for treason, while simultaneously the detention of the driver suspected of ramming into a Chabad procession in Be'er Sheva was extended.

Scientists in Russia sent to long prison terms on treason charges

According to a report by Carmel News - חדשות, a court in Russia sentenced two physicists, Valery Zvegintsev and Vladislav Galkin, to 12.5 years in prison after they were convicted of treason against the state. The report notes that the indictment against them was filed due to the publication of a scientific paper in the field of gas dynamics in an Iranian journal. Fellow scientists argued in response that "participation in international conferences and publishing articles in leading journals are an inseparable part of normal scientific activity." This is part of a wave of arrests of researchers in sensitive technology fields under the Kremlin regime, which views them as a security threat.

Detention extended for the suspect in the ramming during a Lag BaOmer procession in Be'er Sheva

On the local front, Elchanan Groner reports that the Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court extended by five days the detention of Imad Abu Tzulb, the suspect who breached a police barrier and hit passersby during a Chabad procession in the city. According to the report, the police claim that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, while eyewitnesses raised concerns that it was a "deliberate nationalist ramming." The police originally requested to extend his detention by eight days, but the judge granted the request only partially.