Photos from Anton Dolgikh's sentencing have appeared.

      Today, on Wednesday, November 19, a tense atmosphere prevailed in one of the courtrooms of the Oktyabrsky District Court. Among the many people gathered for the first time in a long while were the defendant’s wife, Tatyana Makarova, three sons, and his mother. Everyone sat waiting: when Anton Dolgikh would be brought in, when the court would begin, and what he would say. Lost in thought, the listeners kept their eyes fixed on the door through which the guards were about to enter. The thick, tense silence was not broken by whispers or rustling.

      As soon as the doorknob of the door all eyes were on clicked, the courtroom erupted: Anton was brought in. A little anxious but pleased, probably because he realized he would soon finally hear the sentence, he greeted his family and entered the cage. In a conversation with Tatyana, he, apparently not believing he would be released, asked her to send him a package by mail.

      The conversations were interrupted by the judge entering the courtroom. Tension once again hung in the air. The crowd listened intently to every word he said, while Anton Dolgikh at that moment admired his wife and children, whom, in the worst case, he might not see for a long time. He looked affectionately into the children’s eyes, caught their glances, while simultaneously listening to what the court was saying.

      A few minutes after the start of the sentencing, the court ruled to find him guilty and to release him in the courtroom. Bewildered, he timidly stepped out of the cage, went up to his lawyer Violetta Volkova and hugged her tightly, and then hugged Tatyana and his mother.

      The long-awaited family reunion did not keep them waiting. A moment after the court’s final word, Anton, his mother, who could not contain her emotions, his wife and his children embraced tightly.

      According to the court’s decision, the following rulings were issued:

      under Article 285 Part 1 in conjunction with Article 33 Part 5 — sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment in a colony-settlement. However, on November 18 it had been exactly 9 months that Anton had been in pretrial detention (calculated as “one day for two” — 18 months, 1.5 years), so he was released immediately in the courtroom.

      under Article 291 Note 2 Part 1 — a fine of 50,000 rubles, from which Dolgikh was exempted due to the statute of limitations.

      The prosecutor had requested 1 year and 9 months of imprisonment in a colony-settlement under Article 285 Part 1 in conjunction with Article 33 Parts 4 and 5, a fine of 80,000 rubles, and exemption from punishment due to the statute of limitations under Article 291 Note 2 Part 1.