Russia has granted political asylum to a Spanish national accused in his home country of “cyberterrorism and espionage” in support of Moscow, according to Russian state media.

Enrique Arias Gil, a former university professor in Spain, said in an interview with the TASS news agency that he requested asylum in Russia in February 2025 and has since been granted political refugee status. He is currently completing paperwork to obtain citizenship, according to the report.

Arias Gil traveled to Russia in August 2024 under a grant from Russian House, a Moscow-funded cultural institute operating abroad. In September 2025, Europol placed him on its most wanted list, while a Spanish court issued an international arrest warrant, though police sources told local media that Moscow was unlikely to cooperate.

Authorities suspect Arias Gil of gathering information on Spain’s critical infrastructure and members of its security forces to facilitate cyberattacks. He is also accused of threatening journalists and business leaders who supported Ukraine.

Arias Gil, who previously lectured on political science and is the author of books on extremism, is wanted on charges including computer damage for terrorist purposes, membership in a criminal organization and glorifying terrorism.

Arias Gil was reportedly behind a Spanish-language Telegram channel called Desinformador Ruso (“Russian Disinformer”), set up in March 2024, which has posted messages about cyberattacks claimed by NoName057(16) and another pro-Russian group, Z-Pentest. 

Two days after being declared wanted, Arias Gil posted a defiant message on his Telegram channel, demanding that Spanish law enforcement drop the case within 10 hours or face the release of alleged kompromat on senior officials. 

NoName057(16) emerged in early 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The group has primarily focused on disruptive but relatively unsophisticated cyber operations, relying on volunteer participants and botnets to overwhelm targeted websites across Europe and North America.

Supporters of NoName057(16) previously described the case against Arias Gil as politically motivated, saying he only reposted content related to their cyber operations.