Tatyana Vagina, a resident of Kaliningrad, turned to RT with a request to help her 39-year-old son Sergei, who was detained at the end of March and sent to a pre-trial detention center in Bogotá on charges of financing riots in Colombia in 2019.

The man faces eight years in prison.

The woman is sure that her son is not to blame, and all the accusations against him are groundless.

As Tatyana said, Sergey came to Colombia six years ago on a tourist visa.

“He really liked the country, and he tried to open a travel agency there,” says Tatyana.

“He went there because he was invited by some friend of his, with whom, I think, he worked a little in the tourism business in the Dominican Republic.”

However, reality made adjustments to Sergey's plans, and, according to the woman, he had to work as both a photographer and a hairdresser's assistant.

Recently, he has been involved in sports betting - he worked as an analyst in a betting company, which he created with his Colombian friends.

They received part of the money they earned from Russia.

"Agent Shurik"

In the fall of 2019, thousands of people protested against the government in Colombia, often turning into riots.

People were dissatisfied with corruption, poverty and the growth of crime in the country.

In his social networks, Sergei sometimes posted videos taken on the phone from the streets, enveloped in protests.

And two and a half years later, these videos and the money earned on bets in Russia became the reason for the prosecution.

At the end of March, the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported the arrest of a Russian and five Colombians in Bogota on charges of financing the riots.

The publication also reported that the group is charged with espionage, money laundering and interference in elections.

According to journalists, the investigation allegedly has a large number of photographic and video evidence of the guilt of the detainees, including "a Kremlin agent nicknamed Shurik."

  • © Photo from the personal archive of Sergei Vagin

Sergei himself managed to talk to reporters before his arrest and explain why he was filming a video of the protests on his phone.

“I did not pursue any destructive goals.

Absolutely none.

I am a very peaceful person, I don't like fights.

I just wanted to see what was happening.

Just curiosity, ”said Vagin.

Two days later he was arrested.

“He was taken at home, and in a rude form.

They knocked out the door, laid him face down and took him away, ”says the mother of the Russian.

Charged with three articles

The Russian Embassy in Colombia told RT that they have been monitoring the situation from the very beginning and providing Sergei Vagin with all the necessary assistance.

“He is charged with three articles.

This is conspiracy to commit a crime - the first.

There's up to 96 months punishment.

Money transfer.

And unverified access to information systems.

As much as possible, Sergey faces up to eight years in prison for all this, ”explained Ilya Vanifantiev, head of the consular department of the diplomatic mission.

He added that, in his personal opinion, the man was a victim of the current anti-Russian sentiment.

According to the diplomat, in the local press, some attacks constantly appear in the direction of both Russian citizens and the embassy related to "interference" in elections and other internal processes.

Vanifantiev stressed that the episode with Sergei Vagin is not a single one.

“There are similar cases.

They run in parallel.

I will not name the names of these people, but we are also in touch with them, they came to us.

So far, this person is not under investigation, but is, so to speak, under the control of law enforcement agencies.

But the accusations are about the same.

Money transfers, a slightly similar scenario,” the diplomat explained.

Human rights activists note that the situation is developing on the eve of the presidential elections scheduled for late May in Colombia.

“According to all polls, the opposition has a more enviable position today than the current government.

I think this is an attempt to discredit both our citizen and the opposition.

Through him, they try to say: “Look, they say, there is interference from Russia in the election process.”

Why is the criminal case for the events of past years initiated only now?

Again, this is a signal that on the eve of the elections they decided to find some kind of scapegoat,” said Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for the Defense of Human Rights.

RT will continue to follow the case of Sergei Vagin.