Residents of the Perm Region have collected 7,400 signatures demanding punishment for the killers of 16-year-old schoolgirl Yaroslava Shikhova. She was allegedly raped by three young men who then set her body on fire. Police have detained only one suspect. The petition has been published on Change.org.
On July 8, a railway station employee in the village of Oktyabrsky, Perm Krai, discovered Yaroslava Shikhova, severely beaten and burned. Eyewitnesses reported that while conscious she identified three young men who had sexually assaulted her. Yaroslava was placed in a medically induced coma but passed away on July 18.
The petition, signed by 7.4 thousand people at the time, demands justice for the schoolgirl's death, stating that the young men raped her, poured a flammable substance on her, and set her on fire. The authors of the petition highlight that the liquid was poured into her mouth and genitals.
Law enforcement authorities have detained one individual suspected of attempted murder with particular cruelty. The petition's initiators express concern that this accusation against one person might result in a lighter punishment while allowing the alleged accomplices to evade responsibility.
On July 10, a court in the Kemerovo region handed out suspended sentences for negligence to five policemen. These officers ignored the pleas of local residents who reported hearing a woman's screams for several hours. Meanwhile, Vladislav Kanyus physically assaulted and raped his ex-girlfriend, Vera Pekhteleva, who lost her life at the age of 23.
Kanyus was sentenced to 17 years in a penal colony. But in 2023 the victim’s mother found out that he might be serving in private military companies in Ukraine. This revelation emerged after he posted pictures wearing camouflage attire and holding weapons. The Federal Penitentiary Service confirmed that Kanyus had been transferred to the Rostov region in April. The murder case is still awaiting a cassation hearing.