An art student ‘terrorist’ facing one of the longest prison sentences imposed on a woman in Russia told a court today: ‘My conscience is clear’.
Daria Trepova, 26, is accused of knowingly blowing up prominent Vladimir Putin propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, by handing him a bomb hidden in a statuette.
Prosecutors are calling for her to be locked up for 28 years — until 2052, when she would be 54.
They claim she deliberately passed the bomb to Tatarski – whose real name was Maxim Fomin – in a café in St Petersburg, on orders from Ukrainian intelligence.
Trepova insists she believed the Tatarski statue contained a listening device and is therefore innocent of intentional murder.
Daria Trepova (seen in court today), 26, is accused of knowingly blowing up prominent Putin propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, by handing him a bomb hidden in a statuette
Trepova (seen left and right in court today) insists she believed Tatarski’s statue contained a listening device and is therefore innocent of intentional murder
The explosion killed Tatarsky in April last year and injured more than fifty people
She claims that Ukraine thought she too would be killed, although despite being close to the blast, she was unharmed and fled the scene before being arrested.
“I was actually sent to die with a bomb,” she said, referring to her Ukrainian handlers.
But prosecutors reject her version and have requested one of the longest sentences for a woman in modern Russian legal history.
The explosion killed Tatarsky in April last year and injured more than fifty people.
In her closing statement before a St. Petersburg court, Trepova – who does not deny ties to Ukrainian intelligence – said her conscience was clear.
“I am deeply pained and ashamed that my naivete and gullibility led to such catastrophic consequences,” she told the victims and their relatives in court.
“I’m so sorry for what you had to go through because of me.
‘What pain and what horror. I have already asked for forgiveness from the victims.
‘One of them said, ‘God will forgive.’ I felt a bit of mockery in it,” she said.
“This hurt me because I consider myself a believer, and my condition was calm, because I am sure that at least my conscience before God is clear.”
She did not intend to kill Tatarski, she said, and her supporters say she is being made a scapegoat to cover up the shortcomings of Russia’s secret services.
Her lawyer Daniil Berman said Trepova “did not know and could not have known what was in the bust.”
A video is believed to show 26-year-old Daria Trepova walking to the cafe carrying a box containing what may have been the figurine that killed the Russian military blogger.
Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, is seen with the small statue in a cafe in St. Petersburg just before the explosion
Suspect Daria Trepova was filmed moments after passing the box containing the statue to war propaganda blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. She claims she didn’t know it was an explosive
Tatarsky was killed in an explosion at Street Food Bar No. 1, located in the city center of Saint Petersburg
She had remained in the blast zone after handing over the statue and could have been killed, suggesting she did not know it was a bomb.
“I thought there was a wiretap in the statue and not a bomb,” she said in court in St. Petersburg.
“I did not provide medical assistance to the victims because I was a coward and was saving my life. I’m sorry. Forgive me.’
Nevertheless, her trial has been accelerated and the ‘terrorist’ Trepova will receive a prison sentence of more than 25 years – the normal limit for female murderers.
There has been an outpouring of anger over Trepova, and her case is being tried under Russia’s terrorism laws, which allow for a longer sentence.
A judge will rule on the verdict and sentence on Thursday.
As the trial continued, Trepova’s partner begged the person he claims was responsible for the murder to come forward and admit his guilt.
Trepova’s partner, Dmitry Krylov, accused Russian journalist Roman Popkov of orchestrating Tatarsky’s murder by tricking Trepova into handing him the bomb that killed him in the bar.
“I’m sure you had a hand in having Dasha sacrificed without her even realizing it. I know that Dasha (thought she did) completed some kind of ‘test’ that you gave her, and now it is clear that there were never any plans for any test,” Krylov wrote on social media in the address to Popkov.
Darya Trepova is pictured in court today in a glass cage as she faces 28 years in prison
Daniil Berman, Darya Trepova’s lawyer, speaks to journalists after a hearing in Saint Petersburg, Russia, January 22
‘A person who sincerely wanted to help the wounded and sick, a person who always stood for the truth, a person who has been driven all her life by the immense power of helping others and is incapable of harming anyone
“You (or people close to you) turned that person into a walking bomb who should have died, but by some miracle survived,” he wrote.
Krylov then urged Popkov to do something brave “at least once” in his life by coming out with the truth so that Trepova could spare the worst punishment.
‘I ask you to explain how it all happened. Describe how you, or people connected to you, convinced Dasha to take the statue to Tatarski, without knowing what it meant. Show the screenshots of your messages. Take the blame on yourself.
“Go ahead, express your opinion, I’m not worried about that, but it’s crucial that you say that Dasha really didn’t know anything and was used. After all, that’s the truth, and the truth is what I am.’ defend it, and I would like to think that you defend it too,” Krylov added.
Separately, a prominent military figure and hardline pro-war MP Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev demanded the return of the Gulag labor camps on the Kolyma River, as in Stalin’s times.
Gulags were the ultimate symbol of Soviet-era barbarism, with an estimated 1.6 million mostly political prisoners dying in the harsh Siberian conditions.
Pro-Putin military propagandist and hardline MP Lt. Gen. Andrei Gurulev said: “If someone goes against the state, action must be taken.
The moment of the explosion that killed Vladlen Tatarsky, the Kremlin’s top war blogger, and injured dozens of people
A view of the scene of a cafe explosion in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday
‘People say to me that I want to organize a new Gulag.
“Honestly, I want those who are harming our Motherland today to be in a gulag, happily waving their pickaxes around Kolyma Road.”
The extremist general said: ‘Today the country is at war.
“If there is war, what kind of opposition I think can be serious? The only goal for all of us is to defeat Nazism.”