A panel of judges of the Moscow Regional Court, headed by Roman Izmailov, sentenced Belarusians Artem Bressky and Kirill Basko to 12 years in a high-security colony in a sabotage case, reports a correspondent from «Mediazona»* from the courtroom. The prosecution requested 14.5 years in a high-security colony for Artem Bressky and 14 years for Kirill Basko. The court also fully satisfied the civil claim of Russian Railways and ordered the defendants to pay 2 million 874 thousand rubles in damages.
According to the investigation, Basko and Bressky, on the orders of a person who introduced himself as «Yuri», set fire to an electric locomotive in the «Orekhovo-Zuevo» locomotive depot for a reward. The FSB claims that «Yuri» is a Ukrainian intelligence officer, although the authorities did not establish his identity or explain why they considered him Ukrainian. As «Mediazona» writes, Basko and Bressky told the court that «Yuri» introduced himself to them simply as a «blogger-prankster».
Residents of Vitebsk, who came to Moscow for work, were detained in Moscow in December 2022. Initially, they were charged with petty hooliganism and fined for swearing in a public place. Later, the court arrested the Belarusians under the article on «intentional damage to property», and then reclassified the charge to the article on «sabotage».
In the final charge, there is only one episode with the electric locomotive, but at the prosecutor's request, the court read out the testimonies of Basko and Bressky, which they gave immediately after their arrest but later retracted. According to these testimonies, «Yuri» gave three assignments. As the defendants reported, they gave their testimonies under pressure — they were beaten.
At the trial, the defendants insisted on one episode, stating that the locomotive was old and faulty, and in the driver's cabin «everything was broken», and instead of windows, there were already «sheets of plywood», reported a correspondent from «Mediazona». Both defendants asked to reclassify the case under the article on damage to property, insisting that they did not suspect who «Yuri» was.
However, the court considered the accusation proven and sentenced the Belarusians to 12 years in prison, reducing the prosecution's requested term by two years.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».
Photo: Mediazona