Angola court sentences two Russians to 8- and 11-year terms

A court in Angola has sentenced two Russian nationals to lengthy prison terms after convicting them of terrorism and espionage, in a case prosecutors linked to an alleged plot to destabilize the country ahead of its 2027 presidential election. Lev Lakshtanov received an eight-year sentence, while Igor Ratchin was sentenced to 11 years. Both men, who were arrested in August 2025, denied all charges and have appealed the verdicts.

The court in Luanda found the pair guilty on four of 11 charges, including criminal association, espionage, terrorism, and illegal retention of currency. Prosecutors alleged the two men were part of a political influence operation connected to Africa Politology, a network described by authorities as emerging from the now-defunct Russian private military company Wagner. They claimed the operation aimed to spread anti-Western narratives, cultivate political contacts, and interfere in Angola's upcoming elections, including by providing financial support to the country's largest opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), or by encouraging a leadership change within the long-ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation...