Jury trial begins in case of activist who threw Molotov cocktails at Russian National Guard vehicle
The jury trial of Vitaly Koltsov, a 46-year-old activist who stands accused of attempting to kill 12 riot police (OMON) officers, has begun in Moscow. The first court session in the case was held on May 10. Koltsov faces a life sentence under the Russian Criminal Code’s article on the attempted murder of law enforcement officers. In court on Wednesday, he called the jurors his “only hope for the sentence not to be determined in advance.”
The prosecution alleges that on May 2, 2022, Vitaly Koltsov threw two bottles containing a flammable mixture at two police vehicles that were parked on Moscow’s Revolution Square. Prosecutor Elvira Zotchik said at Wednesday’s trial that Koltsov opposes the Russian government’s policies and “subscribes to staunchly oppositional views.”
According to Zotchik, on the day of the attack, Koltsov prepared a gasoline bomb, approached two Russian National Guard vehicles on the square, and cast a Molotov cocktail at each of them in hopes of killing officers. The resulting fire was put out several minutes later. Koltsov, who was wearing a suit and tie and carrying a suitcase that contained matches and a telephone, was arrested immediately following the attack. He’s been in state custody since May 4, 2022.
Shortly after his arrest, Koltsov acknowledged that he threw the bottles but denied that he intended to kill anyone.
I wasn’t planning to kill an officer, I was planning to damage their vehicles. I didn’t know anybody was inside, and I assumed that the fire would be extinguished quickly and that the officers would be able to get out of the vehicle fast. The article [my crime was classified under] isn’t quite correct, but it’s obvious that I committed the crime.
During the first hearing in the case, Koltsov’s lawyers noted that their client didn’t know there were people inside of the vehicles when he threw the bottles. Judge Vitaly Belitsky said this assertion fell outside the scope of an opening statement, during which a defendant is only supposed to indicate whether he pleads guilty or not.
Koltsov’s first hearing also included statements from four OMON officers who were recognized as victims of the attack. At the start of the hearing, one of the officers asked for the session to be closed to the public, but the judge denied the request.
According to the alleged victims’ testimonies, on the day of the incident, 14 OMON officers had come to serve shifts on Revolution Square in two vans, and six of them were in the vehicles at the moment of the attack. The unit’s deputy commander, Yury Rakustov, said that none of the officers sought medical attention after the incident. Cross-examination of the officers is set to resume on Thursday.