Volgograd man sentenced to 4 years in prison for draft office arson

A court in Russia’s Volgograd has sentenced a man named Denis Serdyuk to 4 years in prison for draft office arson, as per Caucasian Knot.

The prosecutor’s theory is that on 15 May 2022 Serdyuk threw a Molotov cocktail against the draft office window, causing a fire. He has been found guilty of deliberately causing damage to property and rowdyism.

The court also ruled that Serdyuk would have to compensate for the damages worth over 920,000 rubles (€11,625). Serdyk’s laptop that was earlier confiscated as evidence has been counted towards the amount.

Serdyuk pleaded guilty earlier and admitted he indeed had thrown bottles with flammable liquid into the building. He told the court on 8 February that he was expressing his civic stance and wanted to “stop the hostilities”.

A court in Tobolsk sent a school student, 15, to a pre-trial jail for 2 months, suspecting him of draft office arson, qualified as a terror attack attempt, on 25 February.

The court believes that the teenager was planning to set a local draft office on fire on 23 February in the evening. He had a Molotov cocktail and a lighter on him as he was heading towards the draft office, but was detained by the FSB, the court says.