Russian dissidents spanning the European continent accuse Russian intelligence services of planting child pornography on their computers, The New York Times reports.
One alleged victim, Vladimir Bukovsky, said the operations harken back to the KGB tactic known as kompromat, the planting of illicit material on enemies of the state. Bukovsky is currently awaiting trial on child pornography charges in London, as authorities try to verify his claim that the material was planted on his device.
Russian cyber activities have gained increased scrutiny in the west, as multiple countries accuse Russia of attempting to tamper with western elections. Another Frenchman living in Siberia faced child pornography charges months after he had an affair with a prominent local official’s wife. The Frenchman’s lawyers told TheNYT they have evidence his computer was tampered with prior to arrest. Eventually he fled Russia, after having house arrest imposed on him.
Another Russian man, living in exile in Lithuania, reportedly faced child pornography charges after he tried to set up an NGO that investigated Russian government corruption. Charges were dropped against him.
Russian dissidents have also began dying on foreign soil at a higher rate in recent years. Political murder, even outside Russian borders, was sanctioned by the Russian parliament in 2006. Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who defected to Britain, died of radiation poisoning in 2006 after Kremlin agents reportedly slipped radioactive material into a cup of his favorite tea.
“The government is using the special services to liquidate its enemies,” former KGB officer and former member of the Russian parliament, Gennadi V. Gudkov, told The New York Times. “It was not just Litvinenko, but many others we don’t know about, classified as accidents or maybe semi-accidents.”
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