Court imposes life term and three 25-year sentences in Melitopol bombing case

Russia’s Southern District Military Court sentenced Igor Garanin to life imprisonment and Yelena Roy, Sergey Garkusha and Sergey Yevtushenko to 25 years each on October 16 in a Melitopol terrorism case.

A RIA Novosti correspondent reported the ruling from the courtroom. Depending on their alleged roles, defendants faced charges including terrorism and preparation for it, participation in a terrorist organisation and unlawful possession of explosive devices.

According to investigators, the defendants joined a terrorist organisation between February 2022 and January 2023 and followed instructions from a handler acting in Ukraine’s interests.

One incident occurred on November 14, 2022, when an explosion near a Melitopol civil-military administration official’s home left him with multiple injuries.

Another concerned a deputy chief of the Melitopol police department. After unsuccessful attempts in December 2022 and April 2023, he was killed by an explosion on April 27, 2023, according to the investigation.

In March 2023, the group received a separate assignment to attack the regional police deputy chief for operational work. Investigators said that plan was not carried out because the defendants were detained in May–June.