Russian president Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters
An Irish citizen has allegedly been detained by Russian authorities due to messages on his phone which expressed anti-Russian sentiment.
Dmitry Simbaev (49) who has dual Russian and Irish citizenship – has been living in Ireland for more than 20 years and would be celebrating his third anniversary with his wife Daria Petrenko, whom he met in Co Galway after she fled the war in Ukraine.
Ms Petrenko is appealing to Irish authorities to intervene in the detainment of her husband, who has been held in Russia since August 2025, according to RTÉ News.
It is believed that Mr Simbaev had “anti-Russian” content on his mobile phone, which his wife believes is related to a messages that she posted on social media, after her own mother was killed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, during a Russian attack on the city.
“I was sad, I was stressed, it was a very difficult time, so I just posted negative messages because I lost my mother,” she told RTÉ News.
Mr Simbaev was visiting his parents in Russia when he was detained in late August.
Ms Petrenko said her husband has been charged with offences 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.
The Department of Foreign Affairs was contacted for comment.