His participation in the Ukraine war was considered a mitigating circumstance.

A Russian army serviceman has escaped prison and was released by a military court in Rostov city earlier in July 2023 where he was on trial for brutally taking the life of his former wife. 

Eduard Bitarov stabbed Emma Karkusova 16 times in her chest and stomach before she died of injuries in May 2022 in Mozdok, a city in the Caucasian republic of North Ossetya, the Russian Federation. He allegedly used a military knife to murder the woman after alcohol abuse.

The court found the man guilty of manslaughter under affection but decided to set him free anyway thanks to his participation in the war in Ukraine – the troika of judges deemed this factor a mitigating circumstance in this homicide case.

Local media noted that the crime was committed with outstanding cruelty and the defendant changed his testimonies several times, first claiming it was an act of self-defense but later accusing the woman of “immoral conduct.”

The woman was lured to his place in Mozdok with the promise to make peace and find a way to live together again, but the man was drunk at the time she arrived and was unable to maintain a normal discussion.

Instead of punishment under the criminal code, which carries a minimum 3-year prison term, Bitarov was banned from military service and ordered to pay 10% of his salary to the government and financial compensations to Karkusova’s family.

Important Stories, an independent outlet, said in an investigation that 84% of the 80 lawsuits filed against Russian fighters and military who have participated in the Ukraine war, and analyzed by journalists, ended in milder sentences than normally would be handed down for serious offenses such as murder or rape. 

The military involved in drug trafficking, forgery of documents, or thefts nowadays escape with symbolic fines. On the other hand, the punishment for deserting the army or refusing to fight is usually a lengthy prison term.