Russia grants asylum to Spanish professor wanted for alleged pro-Moscow cyber operations

Russian state media report that Spain’s Enrique Arias Gil, accused of “cyberterrorism and espionage,” received political asylum in Russia after traveling there in 2024; he is linked to a Spanish-language Telegram channel, Desinformador Ruso, that amplified claims of cyberattacks by pro-Russian groups NoName057(16) and Z-Pentest. Europol placed him on its most wanted list in 2025, while Spain issued an international arrest warrant, alleging he gathered information on critical infrastructure and security forces to facilitate cyberattacks and threatened pro-Ukraine figures; the piece notes NoName057(16)’s volunteer- and botnet-driven DDoS operations.