{"id":2536,"date":"2026-07-23T15:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T15:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/23\/two-russian-men-jailed-in-angola-for-terrorism-and-spying\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T15:30:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T15:30:53","slug":"two-russian-men-jailed-in-angola-for-terrorism-and-spying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2536","title":{"rendered":"Two Russian men jailed in Angola for terrorism and spying"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"46dbda19-6779-4b88-aee0-092c66dfe358\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Four men in handcuffs stand behind a table with several laptops in a courtroom\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/979df7697f64054433f38b3264e082cea487e28a\/185_22_1155_924\/master\/1155.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Lev Lakshtanov, left, and Igor Ratchin, second left, who have been sentenced to eight and 11 years respectively, at a hearing in August 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Ministerio do Interior\/Governo de Angola<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"46dbda19-6779-4b88-aee0-092c66dfe358\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Lev Lakshtanov, left, and Igor Ratchin, second left, who have been sentenced to eight and 11 years respectively, at a hearing in August 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Ministerio do Interior\/Governo de Angola<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Two Russian men jailed in Angola for terrorism and spying<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>The men were convicted over alleged plan to stage coup and organise deadly demonstrations over fuel prices last year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Two Russian men have been found guilty by an Angolan court of terrorism and spying after being accused of planning a coup and helping to organise deadly demonstrations in the southern African country last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin were sentenced to eight and 11 years in jail respectively. They had denied the charges, claiming they were in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/angola\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Angola<\/a> for cultural and business activities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">From 28-30 July 2025, a minibus taxi strike over fuel price hikes descended into riots and looting, in which 22 people were killed and more than 1,600 arrested according to official figures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Angola\u2019s security forces were accused of firing live ammunition at protesters; the government said its \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/spcommreports.ohchr.org\/TMResultsBase\/DownLoadFile?gId=39357\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">progressive\u201d use of force<\/a> was justified. Human Rights Watch had previously said Angola employed \u201cexcessive force\u201d when it used rubber bullets and teargas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2025\/07\/18\/angola-police-use-excessive-force-against-peaceful-protesters\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">to break up a peaceful protest<\/a> against rising fuel prices on 12 July 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Angolan prosecutors said Lakshtanov and Ratchin wanted to influence next year\u2019s presidential elections, including by funding Angola\u2019s largest opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), or by forcing a leadership change within the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has ruled the country since independence from Portugal in 1975.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Prosecutors also claimed the men were linked to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/africa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Africa<\/a> Politology, a Russian disinformation and propaganda network that emerged from the Wagner mercenary group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Africa Politology was taken over by Russia\u2019s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) after the death of the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023, according to an investigation by media outlets <a href=\"https:\/\/forbiddenstories.org\/russian-agents-prigozhins-influence-network-taken-over-by-the-intelligence-service\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">including Forbidden Stories<\/a>. Wagner was rebranded as Africa Corps and absorbed by Russia\u2019s military.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"03ca6434-8a61-4f88-9449-4da9a8a8d129\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Smoke rises in the air from wood being burned in the middle of a road\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/6e8c4be35d2193e043fb29654fa7d10274ccaed5\/217_0_4140_3312\/master\/4140.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"356\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"03ca6434-8a61-4f88-9449-4da9a8a8d129\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Wood is burned on the street near where people vandalised stores during the first day of the taxi strike in Luanda, Angola, in July 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Ampe Rogerio\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Angola, whose economy is highly dependent on oil exports, has historically been close with Russia. During the cold war years of Angola\u2019s 1975-2002 civil war, the Soviet Union and Cuba supported the MPLA, while the US and apartheid South Africa backed its opponents, including UNITA. However, Angola\u2019s president, Jo\u00e3o Louren\u00e7o, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/oct\/07\/biden-to-visit-angola-as-global-powers-vie-for-african-influence\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">improved relations with the US<\/a> and Europe since taking power in 2017.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In the last decade, Russia has increased its presence in Africa. The Wagner group and then Africa Corps have provided security <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/dec\/28\/central-african-republic-goes-to-polls-as-president-seeks-third-term\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">for the Central African Republic\u2019s president<\/a>, Faustin-Archange Touad\u00e9ra, since 2017.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In 2021, Wagner forces arrived in Mali to support the military junta. Africa Corps also backs the military regimes in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso. Since 2023, Russian troops have also been deployed in Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Sudan, according to a US Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/IF12389\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Madagascar\u2019s president, Michael Randrianirina, has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/apr\/20\/madagascar-gen-z-protesters-fear-new-regime\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">boosted ties with Russia<\/a> since taking power in a coup in October 2025. There are Russians in his presidential guard and a weekly programme about Madagascar-Russia relations was launched earlier this month on national television.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Two Angolans were also tried alongside the Russians. The sports journalist Carlos Tom\u00e9 received a two-year suspended prison sentence. Francisco de Oliveira, the secretary-general of UNITA\u2019s youth wing, was acquitted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Prosecutors have appealed against those sentences, according to the Portuguese news agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verangola.net\/va\/en\/072026\/Defense\/49553\/Luanda-court-sentences-Russian-citizens-to-prison-terms-of-11-and-eight-years.htm\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Lusa<\/a>. Lakshtanov and Ratchin have also appealed against their sentences, but will remain in detention while the appeal is processed, according to Lusa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Russia\u2019s embassy in Angola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><em>Agence France-Press contributed to this report<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/angola\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Angola<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/law\/human-rights\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Human rights<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/russia\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Russia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Two%20Russian%20men%20jailed%20in%20Angola%20for%20terrorism%20and%20spying&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jul\/23\/two-russian-men-jailed-angola-terrorism-and-spying?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2026%2Fjul%2F23%2Ftwo-russian-men-jailed-angola-terrorism-and-spying&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=world\/2026\/jul\/23\/two-russian-men-jailed-angola-terrorism-and-spying\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lev Lakshtanov, left, and Igor Ratchin, second left, who have been sentenced to eight and 11 years respectively, at a hearing in August 2025. Photograph: Ministerio do Interior\/Governo de Angola &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2536\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}