A former fighter of the Wagner mercenary group who was reportedly recruited from prison has been sentenced to seven years in prison for murdering a mother of three after returning home to the Far East region of Primorye from the war in Ukraine.
The press service of the region's courts said on July 9 that the Anuchino district court had taken into account "attenuating circumstances" when deciding what some have called a lenient punishment for the man.
The defendant, whose identity was not disclosed, was found guilty of murdering the 32-year-old woman, leaving her in a car, and setting the vehicle on fire near the village of Anuchino in October 2023.
Local media reported at the time that the man was recruited by Wagner in December 2022 from a prison where he was serving a term of 10 years and 10 months for murder, theft, and robbery.
After fighting for Russia in Ukraine, he returned to his native Primorye with three medals in July 2023.
It is not the first instance of former Wagner mercenaries recruited from jails and prisons across Russia to be accused of committing serious crimes after completing tours of duty in Ukraine.
In a recent report, the Agentstvo Telegram channel said that as of October 4, 2023, 27 people had been killed by former military personnel who returned home from the war in Ukraine, in 20 incidents.
According to the Agentstvo report, 12 of the registered deadly incidents, with 19 victims, involved former Wagner mercenaries.
Courts in Russia tend to hand mitigated sentences to such persons, citing their "patriotism" and "contributions" they made to Russia's war against Ukraine.
Wagner's late leader and founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in late June 2023 that 32,000 former inmates recruited by his group from penitentiaries had returned home after being granted clemency as part of their remuneration for fighting in Ukraine.