The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has finished hearing the case over the October 8, 2022 explosion on the Crimean Bridge. Prosecutors asked the court to impose life sentences on all eight defendants. The verdict is due on November 27. According to Kommersant, if the court agrees, it would be a record for Russian judicial practice: no previous single case resulted in more than five life terms.
Investigators say the defendants took part in preparing the attack and transporting explosives. According to the prosecution, the disguised cargo traveled from Ukraine through Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia, then entered Russia and was detonated on the bridge. The blast killed five people, burned several rail tank cars and caused the collapse of about 250 meters of the road section.
None of the defendants admit guilt. They include citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Armenia, as well as residents of Georgia; the accusations concern logistics, finding a warehouse, arranging transportation or advising on cargo import routes. The BBC reported that one defendant, Dmitry Tyazhelykh, was not involved in transporting the cargo and was charged because of rented virtual SIM cards.
Rights defenders from Memorial and lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov of Pervy Otdel say investigators failed to prove intent and relied on subscriptions to “wrong” online resources and memes about Vladimir Putin found on the defendants’ phones.
Anna Karetnikova of the Memorial political prisoners support project told Novaya Gazeta Europe that the indictment describes the cargo route in detail, but she sees no proof that the defendants knew they were carrying a bomb. Smirnov also told the outlet that some images appeared on the phones only after the devices had been seized. The trial was held behind closed doors from December 2024, and the defendants spent nearly a year in pretrial detention.