The Leninsky District Court of Saratov sentenced the brothers Usuba and Charkyaz Sadoyan, who had kept a young woman in slavery for three years. The men forcibly kept her in a barn in the village of Kleshchevka, Saratov District, and forced her to work at their home. The victim managed to escape from captivity and contact the police. Each of the accused was sentenced to nine years in a strict regime colony. In January last year, the case was returned to the prosecutor due to violations in the indictment, which did not allow an objective consideration of it. The guilt of Usub and Charkyaz Sadoyans was not recognized, their defense intends to appeal the verdict.
In Saratov, the judge of the Leninsky District Court of the city, Dmitry Larin, sentenced the brothers Usuba and Charkyaz Sadoyan, who were found guilty of using slave labor with blackmail (clause “d” part 2 of article 127.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and attempted kidnapping (part 3 of article 30 and paragraphs “a”, “c”, “d”, “h” part 2 article 126 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The court recognized that the 36-year-old and 37-year-old Sadoyan brothers for three years forcibly detained and forced Ekaterina Suchkova, who was 25 years old at the time of the court decision, to work in their house.
According to the verdict, on May 16, 2019, Usuba and Charkyaz Sadoyan hired a 19-year-old girl to do housework and take care of livestock in the village of Kleshchevka, Saratov District (included in Saratov since 2022, later renamed Gagarinsky District of the regional center). The girl was promised at least 10 thousand rubles for her work. monthly. The court clarified that at that time Mrs. Suchkova was in a difficult life situation: she had neither a permanent place of residence, nor identity documents.
However, according to the district court, she was not paid any money. “Confining themselves to providing the victim with a minimum list of products and providing uncomfortable housing (a barn), they used her labor free of charge, connected with cleaning up after the cattle on the territory of their household, while controlling the performance of these works, systematically suppressing her repeated attempts to leave the territory of the courtyard of the house and refuse to continue further performance of work, carrying out its search and return to continue the performance of work, ”the court said.
According to the verdict, Ekaterina Suchkova managed to escape from the Sadoyanov brothers only after three years. Acquaintances, who learned that she was actually in slavery, took her out in a Nissan Patrol car.
Usuba and Charkyaz Sadoyans gave chase, but the victim was able to escape and contact law enforcement agencies.
The verdict was handed down only after a second consideration. The case was submitted to the Leninsky District Court of Saratov in January 2022, but after a preliminary hearing, the case was returned to the prosecutor to correct violations in the indictment. In particular, as stated in the court decision, there were no indications in the indictment of specific factual circumstances regarding the place, time, method of committing the incriminated actions, their motive, goals and consequences. Throughout the investigation, the Sadoyan brothers were in custody.
The criminal case was re-submitted to the district court only in April last year. As a result, Usuba and Charkyaz Sadoyans were sentenced to nine years in prison, serving in a strict regime colony and with restriction of freedom for a period of two years each. Initially, episodes under Part 2 of Art. 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (non-payment of wages) and Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hooliganism committed by a group of persons), however, these episodes were excluded from the charge. The process went behind closed doors.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty and insisted on an acquittal. Usuba Sadoyan’s lawyer Noinar Stepanyan intends to challenge the court decision in an appeal.
“All this time she lived with them, received a salary, no one forced her. Many people worked for them. At the trial, many witnesses were interrogated who know the whole family and spoke positively about them,” Mr. Stepanyan said.
Charkyazy Sadoyan’s lawyer Svetlana Pisakina calls the verdict illegal and based solely on the testimony of the victim. “Her testimony was contradictory. For example, in court they showed a photo in which she was with the Sadoyan family – at first she did not recognize herself, then she agreed that she was in the photo; She couldn’t explain why she didn’t recognize herself at first. Five people were interrogated who continue to work for the Sadoyans and say that everything suits them. At least 20 local residents, including local administration officials, said they knew the family and spoke well of them. All three years there was a district police officer in the village, and no one complained to him. The prosecution claimed that Ekaterina Suchkova lived in a barn, although it was a brick building with a stove, a sleeping place and dishes. The court was interested in whether she had a bathroom, but very few people in the village have it,” Ms. Pisakina noted.