The court replaced the punishment of the ex-head of Mari El Markelov with forced labor

The Skopinsky court of the Ryazan region replaced the real term to which the former head of the Republic of Mari El Leonid Markelov was sentenced with forced labor. This is stated in the case file, which was reviewed by Izvestia on May 5.

It is clarified that in this way the court granted Markelov's petition, but the prosecutor's office appealed this decision.

In February 2021, the Nizhny Novgorod District Court sentenced him to 13 years in a high-security penal colony and a fine of 235 million rubles under the articles "Abuse of office," "Taking bribes," and "Illegal acquisition and storage of ammunition." He did not admit his guilt.

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Markelov was detained in April 2017, and in the same month, by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he was relieved of his post. In November 2019, the Nizhny Novgorod District Court converted the property of Markelov and his wife totaling about 2.2 billion rubles into state revenue.

According to investigators, Markelov received a bribe of more than 235 million rubles from the founder of the Akashevskaya factory, Nikolai Krivash, through a trusted person, Natalia Kozhanova.

In turn, the former Minister of Agriculture of the republic, Iraila Dolgusheva, provided false information from the republic's department in the interests of Krivash, which allowed Markelov to receive a bribe. The merchant has disappeared and is wanted.