Danil Fomin from Yekaterinburg was sentenced to 8 years in a penal colony for killing a student from Gabon, as reported by It’s My City on September 16.
Danil Fomin was found guilty of murdering François Ndjelassili, a Gabonese postgraduate student at Ural Federal University. The prosecutor had requested an 11-year sentence in a penal colony.
The victim’s family believes the crime was racially motivated, but investigators did not categorize it as a murder driven by racial hatred.
The conflict between Fomin and Ndjelassili took place in August 2023 at a Burger King. According to the victim’s acquaintances, Fomin approached the student, saying, "Hey, look, a Black guy, let’s cut him." Another version suggests Ndjelassili had flirted with a girl from Fomin’s group.
Ndjelassili died from blood loss after being stabbed. Two traffic police officers who witnessed the incident merely watched and mocked passersby who urged them to intervene. They were later dismissed from the police force and are facing criminal charges for abuse of power with grave consequences.