Russian reports say dual citizen historian indicted by Israel for security offenses

A lawyer for Russian-Israeli historian Artyom Kirpichenok, who disappeared upon his arrival in Israel last month, told Russian media on Friday that his client was being charged in Israel with serious security offenses.

The report came the same day that the State Attorney’s Office said that an indictment had been filed against an unnamed Israeli civilian for “security offenses” involving a “foreign influence” campaign. The case was under a strict gag order and few details were permitted for publication.

Representatives of Kirpichenok told Russian news site Meduza that “according to unofficial information,” he was investigated over suspicions he “engaged in espionage and communicated with an agent of a foreign intelligence service.”

Meduza reported that “the charges in question are classified as serious,” but Kirpichenok’s lawyer “does not know exactly what the historian is being accused of.”

According to the report, after the indictment was filed, “the defense would be able to access the investigation materials.”

The report of the indictment came days after Russia appealed to the United Nations about the historian who Moscow claims has been in Shin Bet custody since he arrived in Tel Aviv on August 4 for a conference.

He hasn’t been seen since getting off the plane, according to Hebrew media reports. Family and friends who have tried to contact him have been unsuccessful.

Following the filing of the indictment against the unnamed civilian, the Central District Court permitted a few details of the case to be published, but kept all other details under wraps.

The State Attorney’s Office said the civilian was arrested and questioned by the Shin Bet security agency and police “on suspicion of security offenses.”

“During his interrogation, it emerged that the [suspect] had been operated by foreign intelligence elements and had been involved in foreign influence activity,” the statement read.

“Upon completion of his interrogation, an indictment and a request for detention until the end of [legal] proceedings were filed against him for security offenses attributed to him in light of his being operated by foreign intelligence elements against the State of Israel,” the State Attorney’s Office added.

Kirpichenok lived in Israel for more than a decade and studied at the Hebrew University. He writes frequently about Israel and has taken a critical tone toward the country, with Haaretz describing him as part of a small left-wing communist faction in Russia that supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The outlet reported that he has traveled to Iran twice, an extreme rarity for Israeli citizens. One trip came in 2018, when he published a travel diary. In 2022, he posted online that he had taken a second trip to the Islamic Republic.

“Being an Israeli citizen, it was very interesting to me to see where our bombs would fall, and also to convey information to my countrymen about everyday life in a country that, to Israelis, looks even stranger than the Soviet Union did in the eyes of the Americans in the 1950s,” he wrote of the 2018 trip.

He has recently published several articles about Israel, covering subjects such as Israeli apprehension toward Turkey; a comparison between the treatment of Arab Israelis and Apartheid South Africa; and Israelis’ self-perception in the wake of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack. That one was called “The whole world hates us, and we’re proud of it.”