MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court has commuted the sentence of handicapped convict Anton Mamayev, imprisoned for robbery, replacing the jail sentence with a fine of 200,000 rubles ($3,300).
"The sentence handed to Mamayev and Seroshtanov by the Timiryazevsky Court on June 30 should be changed. Mamayev’s crime should be categorized as moderate instead of grave, so he should be sentenced to a fine of 200,000 rubles. Otherwise, the sentence should remain unchanged," the judge said.
Thus, the court refused to uphold the prosecutor’s appeal and the defense attorney’s complaints. When making the decision, the appeals court paid attention to the fact that Mamayev is severely disabled as he suffers from a rare disease (spinal muscular atrophy).
In court, Mamayev and his attorney maintained that he was innocent and asked for an acquittal. "I can tell you that I did not commit any crime. I was just living my life without getting involved in things, because I value my life," Mamayev said.
On June 30, Moscow’s Timiryazevsky District Court sentenced Mamayev to 4.5 years behind bars for robbery. Mamayev had been charged with threating use of force in order to take possession of a motor scooter. His accomplice, who drove Mamayev’s wheelchair, was sentenced to three years in a penal colony.
On July 19, the court held a meeting at the Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility and ruled to release Mamayev on his own recognizance in light of his severe disease which prevents him from keeping him in custody.