A court in Vladivostok has increased prison terms for three citizens of Uzbekistan convicted of gang-raping a woman on a beach. The prosecution twice appealed the initial verdict, deeming the punishment too lenient.

The crime occurred in June 2024 near a café in the Lazurnaya Bay area. According to investigators, four Uzbek nationals who were illegally in Russia raped the woman while threatening her with a knife. After the assault, they attempted to leave the country but were detained at Vladivostok airport. One of the accused died before the trial began.

In May 2025, the three defendants received sentences ranging from 5 to 5.5 years in prison. The prosecution considered this unjustifiably lenient and appealed. After several reviews, the district court increased the terms to between 6 years and 6 years and 10 months, but the supervisory authority filed another appeal.

Ultimately, the court agreed with the prosecution and sentenced each convict to 8 years and 6 months in a general-regime correctional colony.

Earlier, three Uzbek nationals were sentenced for attacking and raping a journalist from Match TV: two received nine years, and the third got four years.

Source: podrobno.uz