Four defendants have been sentenced to prison terms by a Moscow court for their part in the worst accident in the history of the Moscow metro, the TASS news agency reported Monday.
Judge Anton Tolstoy of Moscow's Dorogomilovsky court found the four defendants guilty under Article 263 of Russian Criminal Code: “violation of safety rules and operation of the subway, which caused the death of two or more persons,” the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) reported Monday.
Valery Bashkatov, his deputy Yury Gordov, a senior official of the metro repair service, Alexei Trofimov, and production director of Spetstekhrekonstruktsiya reconstruction subcontractor Anatoly Kruglov have been sentenced to between 5 1/2 to six years in a standard penal colony, TASS reported.
The four men must pay jointly 15 million rubles ($233,127) in damages to relatives of the victims.
Three metro cars skidded off the rails during morning rush hour on July 15, 2014, between the Slavyansky Bulvar and Park Pobedy metro stations on the Moscow metro's Dark Blue Line, killing 24 people and injuring 188 others.
Investigators have said that the incident was caused by improper work on a railway switch, installed recently before the crash as part of the metro's large-scale expansion program.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
