Reuters: The footage of the arrest of Romanian national David Adrian Kercso in Russia was allegedly staged on Monday after his detention

A Reuters analysis of a video recording and court documents suggests that the filmed arrest of Romanian national David Adrian Kercso, sentenced in Russia to 15 years in prison for espionage on behalf of Ukraine, may have been staged several months after his detention.

Kercso, aged 23, was arrested, according to his own statements, on November 28, 2024, in Abkhazia, after traveling there to meet a woman he had met online. On December 13, the Abkhaz separatist authorities released a recording in which the young man was shown in the custody of the local security service and confessed that he had allegedly transmitted information to Ukraine.

The following day, he appeared before a court in Sochi. Court documents indicate ten hearings over the next four months, during which his detention was successively extended.

In another recording, later broadcast by the FSB, Kercso is shown allegedly being arrested in a park in Sochi. Reuters says that the vegetation and images of the area indicate that the recording was made in spring, after his detention began. A Russian lawyer says that such reenactments are a common practice in cases handled by the FSB.

Kercso claims that he was beaten and coerced into confessing, allegations that Reuters was unable to independently verify. He hopes to challenge the conviction. The FSB and the Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian and Abkhaz authorities did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.