Former governor Belykh released from Russian prison after serving 8 years sentence

Former governor of central Russia's Kirov region Nikita Belykh, sentenced to eight years in prison in 2018 for accepting a large bribe, was released from prison on Friday after serving his entire sentence. sentence, his lawyer told state media.

“Today, in connection with the terms of the sentence of the Presnensky District Court of 2018, Nikita Yuryevich was released to the pre-trial detention center-1 of the city of Kirov,” said Belykh's lawyer Andrei Grokhotov, quoted by the newspaper. RIA Novosti news agency. “The sentence has expired. He is now free. »

In a letter written by the former governor that Grokhotov later gave to reporters, Belykh said his “health and well-being are good,” adding that he plans to spend time with his family and children.

“In addition, the Kirov Regional Court continues the proceedings in my case, in which I must participate,” he said, referring to another accusation of abuse of power brought against him in 2021.

Belykh said it would take time before he was ready to speak directly to the press or give interviews.

“A lot has changed in our country in 8 years and the information I received was limited. So I have a lot of need to learn, understand and talk with people,” he wrote in the letter.

Belykh, who led the liberal Union of Right Forces party in the early 2000s, was stopped in 2016 by accepting a bribe of 400,000 euros ($427,396) at a Moscow restaurant. President Vladimir Putin then dismissed him as governor of the Kirov region – a post he had held since his appointment by former President Dmitry Medvedev in 2008.

Unlike most Russian governors, Belykh never joined the ruling United Russia party. At the same time, wWhile serving as head of the Kirov region, he appointed as an adviser the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who some observers say played a key role in the criminal case against Belykh.

In 2018, a Moscow court sentenced Belykh to eight years in maximum security prison for accepting bribes between 2012 and 2016 to protect the interests of forestry projects in the Kirov region. He denied the accusations against him and claimed he was the victim of a frame-up.

The two years that the ex-governor spent in pre-trial detention count towards his overall prison sentence.

In 2021, Belykh was charged with two counts of abuse of power. He was acquitted of one count, but a court in December found him guilty of the second charge and sentenced him to two and a half years in prison.

The former governor's lawyer appealed the conviction, according to the Kommersant business daily, and the court is expected to deliver its decision on June 28.