MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has accused a dual Russian-German national and lawyer, German Moyzhes, of state treason, the TASS state news agency reported on Tuesday, citing law enforcement agencies.
TASS said that Moyzhes had helped Russians obtain European residency permits. He is being held in pretrial detention in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison after being transferred from a detention centre in St Petersburg, the agency said.
TASS did not say when his trial would begin and Reuters could not immediately contact his lawyer.
Moyzhes joins a growing list of foreign nationals and dual citizens detained in Russia who have found themselves caught up in the crisis in relations between Moscow and the West during the Ukraine conflict.
Reuters previously reported that Moyzhes, who was brought up partly in Germany but returned to Russia as an adult, had been arrested in St Petersburg in late May.
The German Foreign Ministry confirmed Moyzhes’ arrest in a statement to Reuters in June and said its embassy in Moscow was in contact with his family.
A German foreign ministry official said at the time that Moscow had for two years denied Germany consular access to its jailed citizens, but said Berlin remained “strongly committed to consular access in this and other cases”.
Treason charges can carry life sentences in Russia, where acquittals for serious crimes are rare.
Moyzhes worked as a lawyer and managing partner for Avers Group Germany, a Cologne-based consultancy, according to the company website.
The website says the firm provides business support and property management services and also assists wealthy citizens of post-Soviet countries, including Russia, to obtain German residency permits.
It was not clear if Moyzhes’ arrest was connected with his professional work and the company has not returned Reuters requests for comment in the past.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
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