A court in Crimea closed a high-profile criminal case against a Russian citizen who tried to smuggle an AK-74 from the Kherson region to Crimea last September.
In court, the state prosecution unexpectedly filed a motion to terminate the criminal prosecution. According to the prosecutor’s office, in connection with the “adoption of the Kherson region into the Russian Federation,” the defendant’s actions in illegally moving an assault rifle across the customs border of the Customs Union within the EAEU do not constitute a crime under Part 1 of Art. 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (smuggling of firearms). A similar request was received from the defense.
The court agreed with the arguments of the parties to the trial and concluded that “the admission of the Kherson region to the Russian Federation as a subject of the Russian Federation on October 4, 2022 excludes the fact of the existence” of the customs border of the Customs Union with Crimea. Since this circumstance improves the position of the accused, it has retroactive effect in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. So the criminal case was dismissed for lack of evidence of a crime.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
