The jury acquitted the Tomsk resident, who was the first in the country to be accused of “occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy”

A jury in the Tomsk Regional Court acquitted local resident Nikolai Kuzmichev of charges of “occupying a high position in the criminal hierarchy” (Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by Kommersant with reference to sources; the information was confirmed to Interfax by the press service of the court.

According to Kommersant, the votes among the eight jurors were split in half; According to the law , in such cases an acquittal wins.

Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code was adopted in April 2019 at the initiative of President Vladimir Putin. Kuzmichev was the first to be detained on it almost two months after that. The Ministry of Internal Affairs called him crime boss Kolya Tomsky, “crowned” in 2013. Kuzmichev himself denied that he had undergone initiation as a thief.

“Mediazona” spoke in detail about this case. The investigation proved his status, citing, among other things, his photographs with thieves in law, classified former convicts and materials about Tomsky in the publication about thieves in law “Prime Crime”. In the testimony of secret witnesses, the names of the authorities present at Kuzmichev’s coronation were listed in the same order as on the Prime Crime page.