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- Sinful waters: nine and six years were charged for the death of participants in the descent into the collector
Sinful waters: nine and six years were charged for the death of participants in the descent into the collector
The state prosecution has requested terms for the defendants in the case of the deaths of eight people during an excursion to the Moscow collector in 2023 — nine years for its organizer Nikita Dubas and six for the founder of the Sputnik booking service, Alexander Kim. The relatives of the victims said in court that they insist on the maximum terms of ten years in prison. Representatives of the victims also stated that it was necessary to posthumously convict the tour guide Konstantin Filippov. What else the defendants and relatives of the victims said in court is in the Izvestia article.
The prosecution's position on the death in the sewer case
On April 24, those accused of the deaths of eight people in a Moscow underground sewer made their final statement at the Meshchansky district Court of Moscow. The organizer of the tour, digger Nikita Dubas, said that he partially admits guilt and hopes for justice in sentencing, and the founder of the Sputnik booking service, Alexander Kim, expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims.
— I deeply sympathize with the families of the victims. Someone lost their children, it's really an unimaginable tragedy. I hope that you will find solace and be able to survive this event," he said.
At the same time, Kim categorically does not admit his guilt in the incident.
On August 20, 2023, a group of eight people — the guide Konstantin Filippov and seven participants, including minors — went on a tour of the Moscow underground reservoir of the Neglinka River. All of them died due to the sharply rising water level - shortly after the start of the tour, a heavy downpour passed through the capital. As the investigation noted at the time, neither tourists nor diggers had the right to go down into the collector — only employees of the special services of the city can be there.
The investigation found that Nikita Dubas posted his ads both on the website owned by Alexander Kim's Sputnik LLC and on his own resource. Moreover, he advertised not only the descent to the Neglinka, but also to other underground rivers — the Presnya, Chechera and Khapilovka. At the same time, the excursions were not coordinated in any way with the city services responsible for the operation of underground utilities. After the tragedy, Dubas tried to hide the traces of the crime — he wrote to the Sputnik company, and it deleted the ads announcing all his excursions.
Dubas and Kim were charged with providing services that do not meet security requirements, committed by a group of people by prior agreement. There is also a third person involved in the case, Alexander Lazovsky, general director of the Avangard tour bureau. But immediately after the incident, he fled abroad to the United Arab Emirates.
On April 24, the state prosecution requested nine years in a general regime penal colony for Nikita Dubas, and also demanded that he be banned from conducting excursions for three years. Law enforcement officers asked Alexander Kim for six years of general regime and a ban on website management for three years.
Nikita Dubas
Dubas stated in court that he would not survive in prison due to health problems, in particular, diabetes, and asked for his sentence to be commuted. The prosecutor replied that when requesting punishment, they took into account both Dubas' illness and the presence of two minor children.
The mother of one of the victims on the tour, Julia Schneider, told the court that Dubas' ads broadcast false information about the tours.
— For example, instead of the words "functioning sewage system", they said "a dungeon with historical brickwork, where a river flows ankle-deep." They also reported that the tour was conducted by a professional guide with at least ten years of experience. But Filippov, who led the tour instead of Dubas that time, had much less experience, three years at most," she said.
Nikita Dubas
The woman also said during the debate that Kim's representatives had asked her to withdraw the claim for compensation for moral damage for 15 million rubles, which she had filed, and stressed that she had complied with the request. She also recalled that the relatives of the three victims received compensation and dropped their claims against the organizers.
— I was also offered compensation, but I refused it. I understand why such a measure is needed. This can be a mitigating factor in sentencing. But money is not a priority for me. First of all, I am interested in ensuring that the perpetrators of the incident receive maximum sentences. And I will continue to achieve this," said Julia Schneider.
One of the victims' lawyers called for Filippov to be tried posthumously. He cited as an example the case of Mikhail Khachaturian, who on April 21, 2025, the court found guilty of torturing and sexually assaulting his three daughters.
The position of the defendants
Nikita Dubas stated in court that the cause of the tragedy was alcohol intoxication of the tour participants, including the guide.
— This is confirmed by expert opinions. But the prosecutor didn't mention it," he said.
But the lawyer of the injured party denied the intoxication of the participants. According to him, the corpses "oxidized in the water," which allegedly was the reason for the experts' conclusions.
Nikita Dubas and Alexander Kim
Kirill Rubalsky, Alexander Kim's lawyer, called the accusation against his client illegal and unfounded.
— Kim needs to be acquitted. By and large, neither the prosecutor's speech nor the indictment shows that all the elements of the crime are present. The preliminary conspiracy is not justified, the prosecutor did not even say anything about it, and it is clear why. Because this is an unsubstantiated statement and there is nothing behind it," Kirill Rubalsky said.
According to him, the only connection between Kim and Dubas is that the guide posted an announcement about the tour on Kim's website.
Alexander Kim
"But the ad was posted long before Kim became director," Kirill Rubalsky added.
The prosecutor called the guilt of both defendants proven. The verdict of the accused is scheduled to be announced on April 28.
The crimes provided for in Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Provision of services that do not meet safety requirements and caused the death of two or more persons") are classified as serious crimes, lawyer Andrey Mishonov reminded Izvestia. The sanction under it provides for punishment in the form of forced labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to ten years.
Nikita Dubas and Alexander Kim
"Most often, the maximum terms are imposed on the heads of organizations, not on full—time employees," he noted. — But the fact that Kim paid moral compensation to the relatives of the victims can indeed become a mitigating circumstance in sentencing.
According to Andrey Mishonov, Dubas is even less likely to be given maximum sentences due to the presence of minor children.
— And the health condition may not be discounted if it is not extremely severe, — the lawyer added.
If the defendants are interested in reducing possible sentences, they should have admitted their guilt, lawyer Vitaly Ulianenko believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
