Logo
Google
 
  Gay Republic Daily - international Gay news Hello unlogged user | [ Register | Log in ]  
Main Menu

Editor's pick
UK Gay News
Michael Petrelis
DIRELAND
Peter Tatchell
QueerSighted

Login




 


 Log in Problems?
 New User? Sign Up!

Oct 13, 2006 News: Killer Of Gay Russian Journalist Receives Lenient Sentence
By VZ

(Moscow, Russia) The killer of a gay Russian TV journalist has been given an unusually lenient sentence of only three years in prison, according to reports by Lenta.ru. The victim was found dead in his flat on 27 May 2006 with his head smashed in by dumbbells. It is estimated that he probably had been dead for about five days when his body was found. During the investigation, the victim was determined to be Vladimir Akatov, 37, a reporter for the Moscow-based TVC television network. His colleagues there described Akatov as a mild-mannered, reliable individual whose assignments had usually included only non-controversial local industry and science stories.

According to police reports, Akatov apparently met an unemployed immigrant from the Ukraine, Pavel Gordijchuk, 19, at a Moscow metro station and subsequently took him home to his flat for the night.

In his trial before a local court in Moscow, Gordijchuk claimed that Akatov promised to help him with his job search in Moscow, and that he had been raped by Akatov during the night. He told the court that he had then killed the journalist in an act of revenge and then fled from Moscow to the Ukraine, where he was later captured by police.

While the court in its verdict recognized Gordijchuk's full guilt in the violent death of Akatov, it nonetheless sentenced him to only three years in prison, basing its ruling on Article 107 of the Russian penal code, manslaughter, instead of Article 105, homicide, which would have required a much more severe sentence.

According to the state prosecutor, the court's decision was based on the fact that Gordijchuk showed full repentance for his crime and on the "immoral and unlawful behavior of the victim."

The case reveals parallels to the killing of the TV journalist Ilia Zimin, who died after being severely beaten by a 18-year old prostitute, whom he picked earlier on the street.




 | Print this article Printer-friendly page

Advertisements




Killer Of Gay Russian Journalist Receives Lenient Sentence | Log-in or register a new user account | 0 Comments
Comments are statements made by the person that posted them.
They do not necessarily represent the opinions of the site editor.