A St. Petersburg court sent for compulsory treatment a military man who planted a bomb at the Mozhaisky Academy

The St. Petersburg garrison military court sent Rifat Zakirov, a former teacher of the St. Petersburg Military Space Academy named after Mozhaisky, for compulsory treatment, according to the telegram channel of the joint press service of the court.

Zakirov was accused under Part 1 of Article 118 of the Criminal Code (causing grievous bodily harm through negligence), Part 1 of Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code (illegal possession of explosives) and Part 1 of Article 223.1 of the Criminal Code (illegal manufacture of explosives), but the military court released him from criminal liability in connection with his mental state.

In April 2019, an explosion occurred at the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy in St. Petersburg . According to the Investigative Committee, four people were injured.

As wrote Kommersant , the investigation found that Zakirov himself assembled the bomb and placed it under the stairs of the academy. The colonel later "discovered" the device, organized the evacuation of the students, and then tried to defuse it. However, at that moment the device exploded.

According to the newspaper, Zakirov acted in a state of temporary insanity. In particular, the colonel’s mental state could have been undermined by troubles with an apartment and work.

“The accused explained to the doctors that it was as if two inner voices began to guide him at once. One demanded to assemble and use a bomb, and the other demanded to stop: “What are you doing? You can kill people!”, wrote Kommersant.