The defense will appeal against the verdict of the actor Mikhail Efremov, whom the court sentenced earlier on Tuesday to eight years in a general regime colony. This was announced to RIA Novosti by his lawyer Elman Pashayev on September 8.
“We will, we will,” Pashayev said, answering the relevant question of the agency.
According to the prosecutor, the artist will be in jail if he files an appeal, the Izvestia correspondent notes.
The Presnensky Court of Moscow on Tuesday sentenced Efremov to 8 years in a general regime colony and deprived him of his driver’s license for three years. Also, the actor was ordered to pay 800 thousand rubles of compensation to the eldest son of the courier of the online store Sergei Zakharov, who died in an accident. In addition, the defendant will pay one ruble to the widow, brother and youngest son of the deceased. Previously, they have filed claims with a corresponding amount of compensation.
When sentencing, the court took into account that the artist at the stage of preliminary investigation and in the last word admitted guilt, as well as the fact that he had children, positive personality characteristics and engaging in charity. The Criminal Code of Russia provides for a maximum of 12 years in prison for such a crime.
The actor was taken into custody in the courtroom. Prior to that, he was under house arrest. The court ruled to set off two days of house arrest as a real day.
Earlier, the prosecutor asked for 11 years in prison for Efremov. Pashayev noted that the client did not think about filing a petition for clemency and did not expect a mild punishment.
However, after the verdict was announced, Pashayev’s assistant was seen near the Presnensky court building. In his hands was a paper with the words “Appeal.” However, there was no lawyer’s signature on the paper.
In turn, the Zakharov family stated that they would not appeal the verdict.
The accident happened on June 8 at Smolenskaya Square in Moscow. Efremov’s SUV flew off the oncoming lane and collided with the Lada van. The driver of the domestic car, Zakharov, died of his injuries in the hospital. The examination established that at the time of the accident the artist was drunk, and traces of drugs were found in his body.
A criminal case was opened on the fact of the accident. Immediately after the accident, the actor confessed and posted a video of his apology. But on August 31, he first gave testimony, in which he stated that he had recorded a video with a confession of guilt, without giving an account of his actions. He also claimed that he did not use drugs, although he had previously confirmed during a psychological and psychiatric examination that he had taken illegal drugs. The actor admitted that he drank a bottle of vodka on the day of the accident.
On September 1, the court completed an examination of the evidence in the artist’s case provided by the parties. In the process, about 20 people acted as witnesses.