An Irish citizen has been detained by Russian authorities due to messages on his phone which expressed anti-Russian sentiment, according to his Ukrainian wife.
Daria Petrenko, who fled Ukraine at the start of the war and now lives in Claregalway, Co Galway, is appealing to Irish authorities to intervene in her husband's case.
The couple should be celebrating their third wedding anniversary this month, having met in Ireland and married in Oranmore in 2023.
Instead, 49-year-old Dmitri Simbaev has been detained in Russia since August due to "anti-Russian" content on his phone.
His wife believes this relates to messages she posted on the social media platform, Telegram, condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ms Petrenko was distraught after her mother was killed in Kharkiv during a Russian attack on the city.
She posted a message on Telegram denouncing the war, and she believes Russian authorities saw this post on her husband’s phone.
"I was sad, I was stressed, it was a very difficult time, so I just posted negative messages because I lost my mother," she said.
Mr Simbaev - who has dual Russian and Irish citizenship - has been living in Ireland for more than 20 years.
He has been a regular visitor to Russia, returning every year to see his parents. He was travelling on his Russian passport when detained in late August.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
It is understood Mr Simbaev’s dual citizenship has made intervention by Ireland more difficult.
Ms Petrenko believes Russian authorities think her husband’s Russian citizenship supersedes his Irish one and they may not co-operate with officials here.
She said her husband has been charged with offences contrary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation which refer to "public justification of terrorism", "public calls for extremist activity" and "arbitrary action committed with the use of violence or the threat of its use".
If found guilty, she is fearful that he could be jailed or sent to a forced labour camp.
Ms Petrenko is appealing to Irish authorities to bring one of its citizens home.
