Lawyer names criteria for prosecuting Astrakhan teens under sabotage article
Schoolboys from the Astrakhan Region have pleaded guilty to committing a sabotage act. In order to prosecute them under this article, investigators must prove that the aim thereof was to undermine the country’s economic security, a lawyer has emphasized.
According to unofficial data, the teenagers failed to complete their plan; they were detained during an attempt to set fire to some communications facilities. They admitted their guilt and claimed that they had fallen victim to Ukrainian special services, a local journalist has informed.
The criminal liability under the sabotage article begins at the age of 16, Evgeny Smirnov, a lawyer, has noted.
"If the teens are over 16, but under 18 yet, then the punishment cannot exceed 10 years of freedom deprivation. There cannot be a life sentence. If the detainees are under 16, then they are not subject to criminal liability; they will be dealt with by commissions for work with minors … Parents face administrative liability in the form of a fine," he has explained.
The prosecutor's call for increasing the sentences for teenagers in a similar sabotage case is unlawful, since minors are being tried, Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the “Civic Assistance” Committee*, is sure. According to her version, the above prison terms are more than harsh for underage boys.
"The state needs to use other methods; for example, active work in schools and colleges, video clips explaining how not to become victims of fraudsters or ill-wishers ... Increasing the sentences will not yield any results," Ms Gannushkina* has added.
The Court of Appeal has doubled the sentences for teenagers from Novosibirsk convicted of sabotage on the railway. The parents of the teenagers detained for setting fire to relay cabinets, a cellular station, and an SU-24 aircraft are convinced that the case was falsified by analogy with the cases in Southern Russia, where railway relay cabinets have been repeatedly set on fire. According to their story, the sabotage criminal cases initiated in the Krasnodar Territory and Novosibirsk have signs of falsification.
*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 17, 2025 at 06:42 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: СK correspondent