Two 22-year-old college students were arrested and charged with spray-painting stencils that threaten Russian President Vladimir Putin’s life.
Islombek Parpiev and Mukhammadaziz Ishmatov, who attend school in St. Petersburg, Russia, were arrested after they allegedly spray-painted acrylic stencil portraits of Putin on a wall in the city along with the words, “If you see him, kill him.”
Authorities were able to track the duo from the Nissan they were driving.
Parpiev and Ishmatov were both arrested on vandalism charges, but after investigators searched their apartments and found radical Islamist literature, they were charged with terrorism. Both are natives of Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country that is more than 80% Muslim.
According to investigators, Parpiev was offered about $80 through the online messaging platform Telegram to spray-paint the anti-Putin graffiti. Police claimed that Parpiev convinced Ishmatov to help with putting up the stencils, an accusation that Ishmatov denies.
If convicted, the two face up to five years in prison.
