About the case: Igor Arturovich Davidenko, a mobilized soldier, is charged with leaving his military unit without authorization during an armed conflict (Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The case is being heard by the Novocherkassk garrison military court, with Judge Mikhail Borisovich Kozhevnikov presiding.
Davidenko (who is under a written undertaking not to leave) appears at the hearing. His lawyer (Sinyavsky) and the prosecutor, whose name is not given, take part. Because the judge speaks quickly, once again not everything he says can be made out.
The lawyer moves to add to the case file copies of the injury certificate and an extract from the combat log. The court grants the motion and briefly reviews the documents (the date of the injury is May 17, 2023).
The court asks the defendant: “Do you maintain your previously stated position that you do not wish to continue military service?” The defendant says yes, although at the previous hearing he said he was prepared to continue serving outside the “special military operation zone”.
Before the closing arguments, the court asks the defendant whether he will take part in them or say everything in his final statement. Davidenko replies that he did not understand, and his lawyer answers for him: “In the final statement, Your Honor”.
The court proceeds to closing arguments.
The prosecution’s position: the prosecutor considers the classification of the crime under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code to be correct and the defendant’s guilt proven. His commanders describe the defendant as mediocre; the mitigating circumstance is that he has children under the age of 14. The prosecutor asks for a sentence of 7 years in a general-regime penal colony and for the preventive measure to be changed to detention.
The defense’s position: the defendant has fully admitted his guilt and gave complete and consistent testimony during the investigation. The sentence requested by the prosecution is excessively harsh: in addition to having 2 children under the age of 14, Davidenko is a combat veteran who took part in the “special military operation” as a reconnaissance soldier and was wounded. While absent from his military unit, he committed no offenses or crimes, stayed at his place of residence, did not hide from the authorities, cared for his elderly parents (Davidenko’s father has a Group II disability), and helped his wife. The lawyer considers a sentence of 5 years in a general-regime penal colony to be appropriate.
The defendant is given the floor for his final statement.
He says he fully admits his guilt, regrets what he did, and would never do it again. He asks the court not to judge him harshly, saying he “was under a lot of stress”.
The court retires to reach a decision, returns an hour later, and announces the verdict.
The court sentences Davidenko to 5.5 years in a general-regime penal colony and orders that he be taken into custody in the courtroom. The defendant is also stripped of the rank of junior sergeant.
The military police officers treated Davidenko in a friendly manner: they shook his hand, exchanged phone numbers with his wife, and went through the items he could take with him to the SIZO (pre-trial detention facility).
