Former Luxair worker sentenced to 16 years in Russia for treason

A Russian court has sentenced a former Luxair employee to 16 years in a strict-regime correctional colony for high treason, turning an opaque national-security prosecution into a case with a direct Luxembourg connection.

Mikhail “Mike” Lochtchinine, a 48-year-old dual Russian-Belian citizen who lived in Trier and worked in Luxembourg, was convicted by the Pskov Regional Court on 2 June. His public professional profile lists Luxair, and AFP described him as a former employee of the Luxembourg flag carrier. He has worked in the Grand Duchy’s IT sector for more than a decade, according to Luxembourg media.

The case underlines the narrow reach of Luxembourg’s protection abroad. Lochtchinine is not reported to hold Luxembourg nationality: Belgium is handling the consular case, while Russia regards him as Russian and has refused Belgian diplomats access. No intervention by Luxembourg’s government had been publicly announced in the sources reviewed by Status as of 20 July.

A disputed payment becomes treason

Lochtchinine travelled by motorcycle from Latvia into Russia on 1 July 2025, intending to visit his ill father in St Petersburg. Reports by Amnesty International, Meduza and Current Time say Russian border officials detained him near the Ubylinka crossing after examining his telephone and finding messages exchanged with a former girlfriend in Ukraine.

Russia prosecuted him under Article 275 of its criminal code. A summary attributed to the regional court’s press service said he transferred money to a Ukrainian citizen for equipment and for travel within Ukraine connected to fighting Russian forces. Lochtchinine’s defence offered a sharply different account: the alleged transfer of 18,000 roubles—roughly €200 at the value cited by AFP—was presented as personal assistance requested by a former partner in 2022.

He denied that prosecutors proved the transaction or his alleged intention. In a statement relayed by his supporters and reported by AFP, he challenged one central element of the evidence:

“Le numéro de carte bancaire qui m'est attribué a été purement inventé.”

“The bank-card number attributed to me was completely invented,” he said. His final statement, published by Mediazona, maintained that the accusation was built on lies. Because the proceedings involved a treason charge, much of the trial was closed, limiting independent scrutiny of the evidence considered by the court.

The court imposed 16 years in a strict-regime colony. The regional court-service account also reported a fine and a subsequent restriction of liberty, but the publicly accessible summary did not specify the amount or duration. The judgment credited his sentence from 1 July 2025, rather than only from his formal arrest on 21 August. Defence lawyer Andrei Chertkov said he would appeal. No appeal ruling had been verified by 20 July.

Allegations of torture and failing sight

Lochtchinine’s location and legal status were unclear to his family during the first weeks after the border stop. Amnesty said he was initially held at a hotel in Pytalovo, then taken more than 1,000 kilometres south to the SIZO-2 pretrial detention facility in Stary Oskol, in the Belgorod region. He was later transferred back to SIZO-1 in Pskov, where he learned on 21 August that he had been charged with treason.

He has alleged that officers in Stary Oskol beat him, subjected him to electric shocks and psychological pressure, and removed his glasses despite his severe short-sightedness. Amnesty characterised his detention as arbitrary and his conditions as inhuman and degrading. Meduza and Current Time also reported his allegations. They have not been independently adjudicated, and the closed prosecution has made verification difficult.

The medical consequences may be lasting. Amnesty reported in May that retinal deterioration had left him without sight in one eye and that his remaining vision was at risk. A court ordered an examination at a state hospital in February and authorised a CT scan at a private hospital in March, but Amnesty said the scan had still not taken place by 14 May. AFP subsequently quoted his supporters as saying the other eye continued to deteriorate.

His transfer to a distant penal colony could complicate treatment further. Amnesty warned before the verdict that a move to another region could force him to restart applications for examinations and procedures. His eventual destination has not been reliably confirmed.

What Belgium—and Luxembourg—can do

Belgium’s Foreign Ministry told AFP that it had followed the case continuously through its Moscow embassy and had repeatedly requested a consular visit. Russia had not granted access because of Lochtchinine’s dual nationality, the ministry said.

That refusal is consistent with Belgium’s official travel guidance for Russia. It warns that assistance to Russian-Belgian dual nationals may depend on Russian permission and that Russian authorities reject such assistance in the great majority of cases. The same advice discourages all travel to Russia.

• Legal route: Chertkov has announced an appeal against the conviction; no result has yet been verified.
• Diplomatic route: Belgium can continue pressing for access, medical treatment and humanitarian consideration, but Russia controls whether diplomats may see him.
• Luxembourg route: Luxembourg can raise humanitarian concerns politically, but his employment in the country does not give it the consular standing that citizenship would provide.

The Luxembourg connection is nevertheless substantial. Lochtchinine earned his living in the Grand Duchy, worked for one of its most recognisable companies and has supporters in its cultural and professional communities. Their campaign has helped keep attention on a case that might otherwise have remained largely hidden behind Russia’s national-security procedures.

For Luxembourg, the case is therefore less a test of formal consular power than of diplomatic influence. Its government can amplify demands for due process and medical care, but the immediate responsibility lies with Belgium—and the decisive power remains with Russia.