Russian court reprieves teen for squirrel killing due to allied victory amnesty
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Version 0 of 1. A teenager convicted of animal cruelty for killing a squirrel in a city park in St Petersburg has been spared time in prison because of a widespread amnesty in honour of the allied victory in the second world war. Prosecutors say Yelisei Vladimirov, who claimed self-defence, was sentenced on Wednesday to one year in prison but was granted amnesty on the spot. Some 150,000 inmates or defendants have benefited from the amnesty, announced in May. Vladimirov, the 19-year-old son of a judge in northern Russia, shot the squirrel in August 2014. He and his friends say they were feeding the animal when it bit Vladimirov and was about to attack him. Witnesses testified otherwise. The case caused a stir in St Petersburg where squirrels are not known to attack people. |