Russian court sentences woman to 27 years over bomb that killed pro-war blogger

A Russian court has sentenced a woman to 27 years in prison for a cafe blast that killed a prominent pro-war blogger after he was given a bust of himself that later exploded.

Darya Trepova, 26, was convicted by the court in St Petersburg of carrying out a terrorist attack, illegal trafficking of explosive devices and forging documents in the April 2 blast at the cafe in which Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 52 others were injured.

Tatarsky, 40, was an ardent supporter of the Kremlin’s military action in Ukraine and filed regular reports on the fighting from the front lines.

Trepova was seen on video presenting Tatarsky with the bust moments before the blast at the riverside cafe in the historic heart of Russia’s second-largest city where he was leading a discussion.

She insisted that she did not know that the bust contained a bomb.

Russian authorities have blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating the bombing.

Authorities in Kyiv have not directly responded to the accusation.

The court also convicted Trepova’s acquaintance Dmitry Kasintsev of concealing a grave crime for sheltering her after the blast and sentenced him to 21 months in prison.

Treopva’s sentence is the longest imposed on a woman in modern Russia, according to the Mediazona website that reports on human rights and justice issues.