Russian President Vladimir Putin has lifted a requirement for a murderer to pay damages to the family of his victim, Telegram channel Sobesednik reported on Tuesday.
Responding to Pekhtelev’s claim, the Kemerovo court has clarified that the payment of damages had been suspended in Kanyus’s case, rather than lifted, due to the fact that Ukraine war veterans enjoy temporary exemption from such payments.
Vladislav Kanyus and Vera Pekhteleva. Photo: Screenshot
Vladislav Kanyus had been ordered to pay 4 million rubles (€41,000) in damages to the family of his ex-girlfriend, Vera Pekhteleva, whom he brutally murdered in 2020. But a presidential decree issued after Putin pardoned Kanyus for his crime in recognition of his military service in Ukraine has removed even this measure of compensation, the victim’s father told Telegram channel Sobesednik.
“The court had ordered him to pay 4 million rubles in damages to the victims — 1.5 million (€15,400) to each of her parents, 1 million (€10,250) to her uncle, and another 200,000 rubles (€2,050) to the state for legal expenses. The presidential decree relieves him of these obligations, the court bailiffs have told us,” Yevgeny Pekhtelev said.
Earlier this month human rights activist Alyona Popova revealed that Kanyus had been pardoned to allow him to go to war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented that even convicted criminals could earn a pardon “with their blood on the battlefield”.
In January 2020, Kanyus killed 23-year-old Pekhteleva over the course of three hours, during which he stabbed her 56 times. Neighbours heard screams and called the police several times, but officers failed to attend the scene. Kanyus had been due to serve 17 years in prison for his crime.
