Ireland – Irish Times, Jan. 18, 2026
Daria Petrenko, who lives in Co Galway, has not spoken to her husband in months and is worried for his safety
An Irish citizen has been detained by Russian authorities since August due to messages on his phone which expressed anti-Russian sentiment, his wife has said.
Daria Petrenko (37), a Ukrainian woman living in Co Galway, has appealed to Irish authorities to intervene in her husband’s case.
Dmitry Simbaev (49), a dual Russian-Irish citizen, lived and worked in Ireland for more than 20 years.
Ms Petrenko said her husband has been charged with various offences under Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The specific articles – 205, 280 and 330 – 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, he could be jailed for several years or sent to a forced labour camp.
Ms Petrenko believes the charges are frivolous. The Department of Foreign Affairs is “aware of the case and is providing consular assistance”, but cannot comment on individual cases, a spokesman said.
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, as such, may not co-operate with Irish officials.
She said her husband regularly visited Russia since moving to Ireland, usually returning annually to visit his parents. She does not know why police targeted him on his most recent trip.
Ms Petrenko moved to Ireland after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The couple met here and married in January 2023.
When Mr Simbaev went to Russia in August 2025, he was detained by police at Chelyabinsk Airport. Chelyabinsk is located in west-central Russia, close to the Ural Mountains. Mr Simbaev was travelling on his Russian passport at the time.
Ms Petrenko said police searched her husband’s luggage and took his mobile phone. She said police told Mr Simbaev they were detaining him because of “anti-Russian” content on his phone.
She believes this content relates to messages she sent him in 2024 in which she expressed anger at Russian authorities over the invasion of Ukraine.
