Forced labor imputed a resident of Komi, who killed animals for a year
Pregnancy of the defendant became a circumstance that mitigates the punishment.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Komi reviewed the case of Maria Usatova, convicted of cruel treatment of animals, which led to their death and injury. Initially appointed two years of forced labor were replaced by a fine of 200 thousand rubles.
The incident occurred in 2025. The court of the Syktyvdinsky district found that from February to June the accused kept animals, both her own and taken for custody. Under her supervision were 22 dogs, 5 chickens and one goat.
During this period, the woman stopped providing her wards with food and water, depriving them of the opportunity to independently obtain food. As a result of this abuse, 8 dogs and 5 chickens died, and the remaining animals were found in a state of extreme exhaustion. For these actions, Usatova was found guilty under the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced to two years of forced labor.
The convict appealed. In the Supreme Court of the Republic of Komi, new medical information was presented, according to which the woman became pregnant after the initial sentence.
Pregnancy, according to paragraph "c" of part 1 of Article 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is a circumstance that mitigates punishment. Moreover, the legislation expressly prohibits the assignment of forced or corrective labor to pregnant women (parts 5 of Articles 53.1 and 50 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Given the state of health of the accused, the judicial board for criminal cases of the Komi Supreme Court decided to change the sentence in terms of punishment, replacing forced labor with a monetary fine.
