Support The Moscow Times!

Ukrainian Court Frees Man Jailed for Putin Assassination Attempt

Adam Osmayev

A Ukrainian court ordered the release of Adam Osmayev, a Chechen man who had been jailed over an alleged plot to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.

The Odessa court ruled that the two years and nine months Osmayev had served in prison were a sufficient punishment for his crimes, Interfax reported. Last month, the court dropped terrorism charges that had been laid against him.

Osmayev was arrested in Odessa in February 2012 after a botched rehearsal of an alleged assassination attempt using a homemade bomb that killed his co-conspirator and seriously injured another accomplice.

The surviving accomplice, Ilya Pyanzin, was extradited to Russia in 2012 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2013. Ukraine's prosecutor general backtracked in August on its earlier decision to extradite Osmayev to Russia after he filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, the RAPSI legal news agency reported.

In 2012, Osmayev was found guilty of illegally handling explosives, destroying property and entering Ukraine with forged documents.

Osmayev and his accomplices had allegedly planned to assassinate Putin by detonating a car bomb during the passage of his motorcade.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more