For killing his wife, corporal from North Ossetia sentenced to restriction in service

The Southern District Military Court has upheld the non-custodial punishment imposed on Corporal Eduard Bitarov, who murdered his wife in the affective state; his participation in the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine was treated as a mitigating circumstance. Victim's relatives tried to challenge the verdict by claiming domestic violence and the fact that the murder was committed with special cruelty.

The above court in Rostov-on-Don has upheld the verdict passed by the Nalchik Garrison Military Court against Corporal Eduard Bitarov, who was found guilty of murdering his ex-wife. The court sentenced him to a restriction in military service for a year with a deduction of ten percent of his salary in favour of the state. Victim's relatives tried to challenge the surprisingly lenient sentence, but to no avail, the "Kavkaz.Realii"* project has reported.

The relatives have pointed out that the victim was tortured and murdered with some special cruelty. At the same time, the convict's subsequent actions (phone calls to friends and relatives, withdrawing money from an ATM, and driving a car) fail to confirm the version that he was in an affective state. It is also indicated that the court unreasonably regarded Bitarov's three children as a mitigating circumstance, "whom he did not care for and failed to support financially."

The murder was committed in Mozdok in May 2022. After the divorce, Emma Karkusova, Bitarov's ex-wife, lived with her children in her mother's house. Five months later, the ex-husband decided to reconcile with her. At his invitation, she went to visit him in Mozdok; and a few days later her body was found in his rented apartment, the "Osnova" outlet has reported.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 24, 2021, Vadim Tekhov was found guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Regina Gagieva. The court sentenced him to 16 years in colony. In November 2022, it became known that Tekhov was released from there.

When in marriage, Regina Gagieva hid that she was beaten up. Relatives found out about this only when the traces of the beatings were already "impossible to hide," said Zema, Regina's mother. Traditions and customs of most regions of Northern Caucasians predispose to violence against women in families.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.