About the case: Police Lieutenant Ilya Vyacheslavovich Yakutin, a traffic police (DPS) officer, is charged with exceeding his official powers with the use of torture, resulting in grave bodily harm (Part 5 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the investigation, he was pursuing a car that had refused to stop when signaled by the police. When the car was finally stopped in a courtyard, Yakutin pulled two passengers out of it (neither of whom was the driver) and beat them. One of the victims was hospitalized in serious condition.

The case is being heard by the Frunzensky district court of St. Petersburg, with Judge Roman Aleksandrovich Chebotarev presiding.

Arriving at court are the defendant, Yakutin, his defense counsel (lawyer Palshkov), Chezhia, assistant prosecutor of the Frunzensky District of St. Petersburg, the victim Krasnov, and the representative of the victim Stepanov, lawyer Tereshchenko.

A notice on the courtroom door stated that the judge was in deliberations on a verdict in another case until October 16, 2026 (no time was given). No such verdict was ever announced, yet the court secretary kept telling visitors who came with various questions that the judge was “in deliberations on a verdict” and could not sign documents.

Once all the parties had arrived, Yakutin, his defense counsel, the state prosecutor, and the victim’s representative were invited into the courtroom. The victim himself was left in the corridor.

An animated discussion then went on in the courtroom for half an hour, dominated by the judge’s loud voice. The snatches of phrases that could be heard sounded like proposals for ways to downgrade the charges and arrive at a verdict acceptable to everyone. The most clearly audible statement was that the judge would not apply Article 64 of the Criminal Code.

At one point Yakutin and his defense counsel left the courtroom and came back, which looked like they were discussing a proposal before giving an answer. Their conversation lasted about 5 minutes, and they spoke well away from everyone else in the corridor. In passing, Yakutin also said that there was “no alternative” and that Part 3 provides for a milder colony regime. The discussion ended soon after Yakutin and his defense counsel returned.

When the victim’s representative (Tereshchenko) came out, he told the observer that the hearing had not taken place, that “organizational matters” had been discussed, and that a decision had been made to “speed things up”, meaning the case would be concluded within two hearings.