The Central District Military Court of Yekaterinburg has appointed 12 years in a strict regime colony to a resident of Nizhnevartovsk, Vladislav Borisenko, who was found guilty in the case of arson of a military registration and enlistment office, TASS reports.
Borisenko was charged with committing a terrorist act by prior conspiracy (paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). During the debate, the prosecutor asked Borisenko to be sentenced to 13 years in prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to setting fire to the military registration and enlistment office, noting in his final speech that he did not pursue any political goals, but acted only for the sake of receiving money.
In my country blocked
present tense
Together with Borisenko, Vasily Gavrylyshyn was involved in the case. Initially, the men were charged with damage to property (Part 2 of Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and hooliganism (Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), but in December the charges were toughened. Their cases were divided in proceedings and are considered separately.
The representative of the prosecution stated that the arson was committed at the direction of Rostislav Mukhin, whom the prosecution considers connected with the Ukrainian special services, but does not provide any evidence of this. Borisenko and Gavrylyshyn were promised from 1 to 3 million rubles for the arson, depending on the damage caused.
Borisenko’s lawyer Sergei Chernyshkov noted that the actions of his client cannot be considered a terrorist attack, since “he had large debts and committed arson not from political, but from selfish motives.” “The actions were not terrorist, because they could not cause fear among the population for their lives, for their loved ones and property,” the lawyer specified and asked the court to consider Borisenko’s actions an attempt at arson and to impose a punishment not related to imprisonment.
The military enlistment office in Nizhnevartovsk was set on fire on the night of May 4, 2022. According to video recordings, the attackers threw two Molotov cocktails into the building. One bottle went out, the second one set fire to the wooden paneling at the entrance to the military registration and enlistment office.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations said that the fire area was 1 square meter, no one was injured. Another unused Molotov cocktail was found at the scene. Arson suspects were arrested in mid-May. Their names were not called then.
In Russia, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian army into Ukraine, attempts have been made to set fire to more than 50 military registration and enlistment offices, including in Ryazan, Voronezh, Omsk, Rostov, Moscow, Ivanovo regions and Mordovia. Criminal cases were opened in several regions.
The Russian General Staff said that cases of arson of military registration and enlistment offices will be regarded as terrorist attacks and punished by up to 15 years in prison.
