6.5 Years for Z: Belgorod Resident Sentenced for Arson and Explosives

Resident of Belgorod, Ilya Chubukov, was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for setting fire to an installation in the shape of the letter Z, reports NewsBox

Ilya Chubukov, from Belgorod, received a 6.5-year prison sentence for arson involving a structure shaped like the letter Z in the autumn of 2023. Initially, he was fined 50,000 rubles for this act.

According to Chubukov, after his arrest he was subjected to harsh treatment. He claims that in September 2023, law enforcement officers took him to a forest area where they attempted to extract a confession using an electroshock device, beatings, and threats. He was threatened with having his legs chopped off with an axe, subjected to a gas torch, and coerced to name a "handler." Following this, he was held in a police station for over 24 hours with a bag over his head and in handcuffs.

Chubukov was convicted not for arson but for allegedly possessing explosives. He insists that the explosives were planted on him.