Russia’s Supreme Court has ruled that “the change of the current situation” allows acquitting Vladislav Ustinov, a serviceman, on his charges after he was found guilty of a traffic incident that killed two people.
One of the grounds for such a decision was that Ustinov participated in the Ukraine war, according to the ruling published on the website of the court, Kommersant reports.
A military court in Khabarovsk declared Ustinov guilty of causing a traffic situation and sentenced him to two years in a minimum-security prison. This decision was confirmed by the two more courts, but the Board of the Armed Forces for military personnel intervened in the case.
The Board referred to a law that says a person who has committed a crime of small or medium gravity should be acquitted on their charges if it is established that, due to a change in the situation, this person or the crime committed by him ceased to be socially dangerous.
More than a year and a half has passed since the crime was committed, Ustinov is now “performing combat missions in the zone of a special military operation and is described by the command as a serviceman who shows courage, dedication and a high level of professional training”, therefore, he “has ceased to be socially dangerous and is subject to release from punishment," the Supreme Court ruled.