Odesa Court Sentences Russian National to 5 Years for Desecrating Ukrainian Flags and Theft

The Primorsky District Court of Odesa convicted a native of the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation of two crimes, one of which was desecration of the state symbols of Ukraine.

According to the court' s verdict, the man tore down 51 Ukrainian flags on European Square and set them on fire.

For this, he was sentenced to two years in prison. However, he will spend twice as much time in prison because on the same day he stole a laptop from a currency exchange office. He was sentenced to five years in prison for theft in wartime.

According to the law, a more severe punishment usually absorbs a milder one, so the man will spend five years in prison.

When sentencing the defendant, the court took into account the nature and degree of public danger of the criminal offense (crime), the personality of the defendant, and the circumstances of the case that mitigate and aggravate the punishment.

In particular, the court did not believe in the convicted person's sincere remorse, noting that remorse is not a formal indication of guilt, but an appropriate attitude to the offense, which implies a proper critical assessment of the perpetrator's unlawful behavior, its condemnation and desire to settle the guilt, which should be confirmed by specific actions aimed at correcting the situation caused by the criminal offense. The fact of a person's sincere remorse for committing a crime must be reflected in the criminal proceedings.

However, from the criminal proceedings, the court found that the accused did not take any action that would indicate condemnation of his behavior and desire to settle the guilt, that is, he did not provide a critical assessment of his unlawful behavior, formally indicating his guilty plea, which is inconsistent with the above motives for determining sincere remorse.

Кирило Бойко