A Moscow military court on Thursday sentenced a Russian man to 25 years in prison for planting a car bomb that severely wounded a military intelligence officer and his wife last year
Yevgeny Serebryakov was accused of placing an explosive device under the car of a GRU colonel, identified by independent media as Andrei Torgashov, in July 2024. Torgashov’s feet were reportedly blown off in the blast while his wife was injured.
Serebryakov fled the country after the attack but was later arrested in Turkey and extradited to Russia within days. In court last month, he was reported to have admitted to planting the bomb under Torgashov’s car, saying he was motivated by the desire to “end the war.”
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said Thursday that Moscow’s 2nd Western District Military Court found Serebryakov guilty of terrorism and the illegal manufacture and possession of explosives.
The 30-year-old was ordered to serve the first five years of his sentence in a regular prison and the remaining 20 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
Prosecutors had requested a 28-year prison sentence for Serebryakov, who Russian media said was a former bank employee recruited online in March 2024 to carry out the bomb attack.
According to the Investigative Committee, one of its employees was the original target of the car bomb plot. The law enforcement agency claimed Serebryakov changed his target to the GRU colonel after being unable to follow through with the original plan.
Serebryakov disputed that account, saying the change of plans was voluntary.
He and other individuals allegedly involved in the plot were said to have been promised up to $20,000 and help with relocation to Ukraine for carrying out the attack. The Investigative Committee did not indicate what happened to those other indivduals, who were not named.
The military court took into account Serebryakov’s apology to Torgashov and his wife during the Oct. 29 trial when issuing its verdict, the RBC news outlet reported. Terrorism-related crimes are punishable by up to life in prison under Russian law.
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