The Kursk Garrison Military Court sentenced Ivan Timokhov, a member of the “Hawk PMC” known by the call sign Timokha, to five years in a maximum-security penal colony in a case involving the torture of war correspondent Roman Semenov. RBC reported this.
Timokhov was found guilty of exceeding official powers with the use of torture under Part 4 of Article 286 of the Russian Criminal Code. The verdict itself was announced on May 22, 2026, but its details became public only later.
According to investigators, in autumn 2024 Timokhov, acting on orders from the leadership of the “Hawk PMC,” placed Semenov, also known as Samurai, in a wooden structure sunk into the ground. Prosecutors said the journalist spent 12 days there, was deprived of freedom of movement, and was subjected to torture. The crime, according to the case materials, took place in the Belgorod region.
Timokhov’s lawyer argues that the punishment was too severe. The defense says he had previously testified against Aleksei Marushchenko, the founder of the “Hawk PMC,” who is accused of fraud in recruiting new fighters for the war. Marushchenko’s detention became known in April.
62-year-old Roman Semenov linked the incident to his investigation into the activities of the “Hawk PMC” and his work for the magazine “Union of Nationalities.” RBC also reported that before the torture, he was forcibly taken to the Belgorod region and kept under guard for a long period.
In posts on VKontakte, Semenov said he was abducted on September 18, 2024, near the exit of a metro station in St. Petersburg. He said that after “prolonged and brutal torture,” he was placed for about two weeks in a coffin that was buried vertically in the ground. According to him, officers from the military investigative committee freed him on October 2, 2024.
Afterward, Semenov said he continues to serve under contract in the “North” grouping and heads the awards committee of “Detachments of Russia.” He also published a poem titled “I Stand in a Coffin,” in which he mentioned the “Hawk PMC” and Timokhov.