Eight defendants in the Crimean Bridge explosion case have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced to life imprisonment Artem Azatyan, Georgy Azatyan, Oleg Antipov, Alexander Bylin, Vladimir Zlob, Roman Solomko, Artur Terchanyan and Dmitry Tyazhelykh.

The court also ordered them to pay 7 billion rubles in favor of the affected companies and individuals.

According to investigators, the defendants organized They delivered explosives to the Crimean Bridge, passed them on to each other, and stored the cargo in a warehouse. They are charged with terrorist acts, illegal acquisition, transfer, storage, and transportation of an explosive device, as well as smuggling an explosive device.

None of those convicted admitted guilt.

The Crimean Bridge was blown up on October 8, 2022, by a truck packed with explosives. The explosion destroyed approximately 250 meters of the highway and burned seven tank cars of a freight train. Five people were killed. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility.

Memorial has recognized all those sentenced as political prisoners. Human rights activists claim that the case surrounding the Crimean Bridge bombing is clearly politically motivated and based on investigative assumptions. 

"In a situation where the real organizers and perpetrators are inaccessible to the Russian authorities, the investigation decided to stage a show trial of random people they could reach," says in a message on the Memorial website.