Actor Mikhail Yefremov will be released on parole after serving more than half of his eight-year sentence for a fatal drunk driving crash, Russian media reported Monday.
Yefremov, 61, was sentenced in 2020 to eight years in a medium-security prison after he killed a van driver in a head-on collision while intoxicated. His sentence was later reduced to seven and a half years on appeal.
In 2023, Yefremov requested — then withdrew — a bid to replace his prison term with corrective labor. While a Belgorod prison colony approved his parole release last spring, the actor filed an appeal last month without notifying his lawyers.
On Monday, a court in Belgorod granted his parole request, according to the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia. Yefremov’s lawyer, Yuri Padalko, told Izvestia that his client would be released within 15 days.
Under the terms of his parole, Yefremov will be banned from driving and must report regularly to authorities until the end of his sentence in 2027.
Yefremov, who said his health deteriorated during his time in jail, has long been known for his portrayal of a jovial drunk on screen throughout his three-decade film and theater career. His lawyer claims he requires treatment outside the Russian prison system.
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