Russian court convicts man of 'terrorism' for fire attack on enlistment office

According to the TASS state news agency, the decision by a military court in Yekaterinburg was the first time a Russian court had used the terrorism designation to punish someone for an arson attack on an enlistment office. In Tuesday's ruling, Vladislav Borisenko, who was accused of trying to burn down such an office in the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk in May, was sentenced to 12 years -- to be spent first in prison, and then in a maximum security prison colony.


Reuters | Updated: 31-01-2023 18:27 IST | Created: 31-01-2023 17:34 IST
Russian court convicts man of 'terrorism' for fire attack on enlistment office
Representative Image Image Credit: ANI
  • Country:
  • Russian Federation

A Russian court said on Tuesday it had found a man guilty of trying to burn down a military enlistment office in Siberia and had jailed him for 12 years in a ruling that classified his crime as an "act of terrorism". According to the TASS state news agency, the decision by a military court in Yekaterinburg was the first time a Russian court had used the terrorism designation to punish someone for an arson attack on an enlistment office.

In Tuesday's ruling, Vladislav Borisenko, who was accused of trying to burn down such an office in the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk in May, was sentenced to 12 years -- to be spent first in prison, and then in a maximum security prison colony. TASS said the fire had spread across an area of one square kilometre, but that nobody had been hurt.

Borisenko had carried out the attack with another man and they had both allegedly confessed their guilt, it said, saying they had purportedly acted on the promise of receiving a financial reward from a third party. The court said in a statement that its ruling could be appealed.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year in what it called a "special military operation", many enlistment offices across the country have been targeted in arson attacks of varying seriousness. In September, Vladimir Tsimlyanskiy, a senior member of Russia's General Staff, told a government newspaper that such attacks had become a problem and warned they would be regarded as acts of terrorism or as public incitements to commit terrorism punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

A presidential decree published on Tuesday said Russia will begin checks for weapons and explosives in cars in regions of the country with a high "terrorist" threat level.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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