[Regnum] Alexander Pogorelov, who was the main defendant in the case of the assassination attempt on the first head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko and the murder of DPR battalion commander Arsen Pavlov, known under the call sign Motorola, was sentenced on June 19 to life imprisonment to be served in a special regime colony.
“Based on the totality of crimes, Pogorelov will finally be sentenced to life imprisonment to be served in a special regime colony,” said the judge at the Southern District Military Court, where the case was heard.
In particular, Pogorelov was found guilty of a terrorist attack, attempted terrorist attack, encroachment on the life of a statesman, participation in a terrorist community, espionage, undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities and carrying explosives.
The rest of the defendants in the case - Vasily Churilov, Alexander Timoshenko and Artyom Yen - received from 12 to 17 years of strict regime. Churilov was accused of participating in a terrorist community and facilitating terrorist activities. Tymoshenko - in espionage and preparation for it, Yena - in promoting terrorist activities.
As IA Regnum reported, Alexander Zakharchenko died on August 31, 2018 as a result of an explosion in a cafe in the center of Donetsk, where he had gone to meet friends. A bomb was installed in the establishment; in the explosion, the politician received non-life-threatening injuries and died on the way to the hospital.
The details of his murder became known from an intercepted conversation between an employee and an SBU agent. The perpetrator of the murder was paid 5 million rubles.
The commander of the Sparta battalion of the DPR army, Arsen Pavlov, better known by the call sign Motorola, was killed on October 16, 2016 in the elevator of his building in Donetsk using an explosive device. His guard died along with him. Later, the DPR Ministry of State Security stated that the mastermind behind the murder of Motorola and Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi) was the head of the counterintelligence department of the SBU, Alexey Petrov.