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Russia Seeks 28-Year Sentence for Woman Accused of Killing Pro-War Blogger

Daria Trepova. Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency

Russian prosecutors have requested a 28-year prison sentence on terrorism charges for a woman accused of killing military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, St. Petersburg’s court system said Friday.

Tatarsky, a former bank robber and pro-war Ukrainian rebel, was assassinated while speaking at an April 2023 event at a St. Petersburg cafe frequented by pro-war activists and ultranationalists.

Local resident Daria Trepova, 26, was witnessed handing Tatarsky a golden bust of himself, which exploded minutes later. Trepova, who was accused of carrying out the assassination on orders from Ukraine, denied knowing that she was carrying an explosive device.

“The prosecutor asks the court to find Trepova guilty and sentence her to 28 years in a general-security prison colony with a fine of 800,000 rubles [$9,000],” St. Petersburg’s court system said on the Telegram messaging app.

The prosecutors also requested St. Petersburg’s military court to sentence Dmitry Kasintsev to one year and 10 months in prison on charges of harboring Trepova.

This story is developing.

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