Angola sentences two Russians to prison for espionage, election interference

Two Russian nationals, Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin, have been sentenced to eight and eleven years in prison in Angola on charges including espionage, terrorism, and destabilizing the country. The Luanda court found them guilty of attempting to influence the 2027 general elections and inciting protests against fuel price increases in July 2025.

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We are not satisfied with the sentence, and therefore, we have filed an appeal against the decision of the Court of the District of Luanda (capital). We will file the appeal today.

The prosecution accused the men of activities aimed at destabilizing Angola, including espionage, forming a terrorist organization, financing terrorism, public incitement to crime, and illicitly introducing foreign currency. They were also alleged to have sought to finance the main opposition party, UNITA, to bring it to power in the 2027 elections and to force a change within the ruling MPLA party's leadership.

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the evidence presented by the Public Ministry and incorporated into the case file are not consistent.

Lakshtanov and Ratchin arrived in Angola with the stated mission of opening a cultural center and were arrested in August 2025. Their case gained international attention in February when they were named in a journalistic investigation into Moscow's disinformation efforts in Africa. The protests in July 2025, which the Russians are accused of inciting, involved vandalism and led to at least 22 deaths, according to the Angolan Interior Ministry.

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provoke a political change that would bring the UNITA party to power

Two Angolan citizens were also tried: journalist Amor Carlos Tomé received a two-year suspended sentence, while Oliveira Francisco, a youth leader for UNITA, was acquitted. The defense attorney for the Russians, David Guz, rejected the notion of a political trial but argued that the evidence presented by the prosecution was inconsistent. Both the prosecution and the defense have appealed the verdict.

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force a change within the leadership of the (ruling) MPLA party