MOSCOW: Russian prosecutors on Thursday asked a court to free a jailed actor and give him a non-custodial sentence in a case that has sparked protests and a star-studded solidarity campaign, in an apparent climbdown for the authorities.
On Thursday evening, the General Prosecutor's Office said that Deputy General Prosecutor Yury Ponomaryov had asked the Moscow city court to set the actor free. The General Prosecutor's Office stressed that it did not contest the proof of Ustinov's guilt or the interpretation of his actions.But, it added, the verdict should be changed because the punishment was unjust"due to its excessive severity."
Ustinov's case caused particular outrage because the court refused to consider video footage from the scene that showed police in an apparently unprovoked attack on the actor.