A female Russian “assassin” who killed a pro-Putin blogger in a café bombing told the court that her “conscience is clear”.
Daria Trepova, 26, is facing one of the longest jail sentences handed to a woman in Russia after being accused of killing military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in April 2023.
The 26-year-old has been accused of gifting Tatarsky a golden bust of himself with a bomb hidden inside.
Prosecutors are demanding that Trepova be handed a 28-year jail sentence on terrorism charges.
Daria Trepova declared: 'My conscience is clear'
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They claim that she handed the bomb to the pro-Putin propagandist whilst he was speaking at a St Petersburg café which is often frequented by ultranationalists.
The bomb exploded minutes later, killing Tatarsky instantly and wounding 50 others.
Police later arrested the 26-year-old on suspicion of her involvement in the assassination.
Prosecutors have claimed that Trepova, who has since said that her “conscience is clear”, was acting on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence.
However, she has denied knowing of the bomb’s existence and said she did not mean to kill the pro-Putin blogger.
She has instead claimed that she believed that the statue of Tatarsky contained a listening device.
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Prosecutors have claimed that Trepova was acting on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence
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Trepova fled the scene unscathed before she was later captured and detained.
The 26-year-old, who has not denied links to Ukrainian intelligence, addressed victims of the attack at a St Petersburg court today: “I am very pained and ashamed that my naivety and gullibility led to such catastrophic consequences.
“I am very sorry for what you had to go through because of me.
“Such pain and such horror. I have already asked for forgiveness from the victims.
“One of them said: 'God will forgive'. I felt a little mockery in this.
“This hurt me because I consider myself a believer, and my state was calm because I am sure that before God, at least, my conscience is clear.”
Her lawyer Daniil Berman said Trepova “did not know and could not have known what was inside the bust”.
Despite this, Trepova is facing 28 years in prison, three years more than the normal limit for Russian female murderers.
Prosecutors have also requested that Dmitry Kasintsev, who is accused of giving Trepova accommodation after the attack, be sentenced to one year and 10 months in jail on allegations of harbouring the 26-year-old.
She could face 28 years in jail
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Her lawyer Daniil Berman said Trepova 'did not know and could not have known what was inside the bust'
Reuters
“The prosecutor asks the court to find Trepova guilty and sentence her to 28 years in a general-security prison colony with a fine of 800,000 rubles (£7,000),” St. Petersburg’s court system said via Telegram.
Her partner, Dmitry Rylov, said she had been “set up” and did not mean to kill Tatarsky.
Rylov is a member of the so-called Russian Liberation army and is also wanted by the secret services
He said: “I believe that my wife was set up. I am in full confidence that she would never be able to do something like that on her own volition.
“Yes, with Daria we really do not support the war in Ukraine, but we believe that such actions are unacceptable.
“I am 100 per cent sure that she would never have agreed to such a thing if she had known.”
He has accused Russian journalist Roman Popkov of orchestrating the assassination of Tatarsky by tricking Trepova into handing him the bomb that killed him in the café.
Addressing Popkov on social media, he wrote: “I'm certain that you had a hand in sending Dasha to be sacrificed without her even realizing it. I know that Dasha [thought she was] completing some kind of 'test' that you gave her, and now it's obvious that there were never plans for any kind of test.
“I ask you to explain how it all happened. Describe how you, or people connected to you, convinced Dasha to take the figurine to Tatarsky, not knowing what it contained. Show the screenshots of your messages. Take the blame on yourself.”
