Russian student sentenced to 19 years over alleged plot to bomb a mosque

A military court in Russia has sentenced a 19-year-old student at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU), Dmitry Bokov, to 19 years in prison over an alleged plot to carry out a bombing at a mosque, according to reports from independent Russian outlets citing the defendant's relatives.

The Second Western District Military Court handed down the sentence, according to reporting by the outlets Osторожно, новости (Cautiously, News) and Msk1, which cited statements from Bokov's family. His relatives have said that he was tortured following his detention, an allegation that could not be independently verified.

Cases involving alleged terrorism plots in Russia have frequently drawn scrutiny from human rights organizations and independent media, which have raised concerns in various cases about due process, the treatment of detainees and the reliability of confessions obtained during detention. Russian authorities have generally defended such prosecutions as necessary responses to genuine security threats.

Details about the specific evidence presented against Bokov, including how authorities say the alleged plot was uncovered and what role, if any, he is accused of playing in planning an attack, were not fully described in available reporting. The case was handled by a military court, a venue Russian authorities use for a range of cases classified as terrorism-related.

Independent verification of the torture allegations reported by Bokov's relatives was not available. Human rights advocates have called for independent investigations in similar cases in the past, though such reviews are rarely conducted by Russian authorities in politically sensitive proceedings.