The Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don has sentenced eight defendants to life imprisonment in connection with the October 2022 Crimean bridge bombing.
A total of 13 people, citizens of Russia, Armenia, and Ukraine, are charged in the case. Eight of them, Artyom Azatyan, Georgy Azatyan, Oleg Antipov, Alexander Bilin, Vladimir Zloba, Dmitry Tyazhelich, Roman Solomko, and Arthur Terchanyan, have been detained.
All have been charged with terrorist acts and transporting explosives. Solomko and Terchanyan are also charged with smuggling explosives.
The court heard the case in camera. The indictment called for life imprisonment for all eight defendants. None of the defendants has pleaded guilty; they all claim they were unaware of the cargo.
Recall that the explosion on the Crimean bridge occurred on October 8, 2022. The explosion of a truck loaded with explosives caused several sections of the road to collapse. The truck driver and four other people in a nearby car were killed.
