Russian Officials More Likely to Exonerated, and Less Likely to Be Jailed if Convicted, New Figures Show

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 11 – A new study shows yet another way the Putin system works to protect its officials even as it imposes more draconian penalties on the population. According to the Media.Equality telegram channel, officials charged with serious crimes were far less likely to be convicted and far less likely to be jailed if convicted.

            The Telegram channel examined criminal cases and their outcomes during calendar year 2021. It found that officials charged were 12 times more likely to be exonerated by the courts than ordinary Russians (2.6 percent compared to 0.21 percent) and were only about half as likely to be jailed if they were convicted (15 percent as against 28 percent).

            These figures confirm that the regime is taking care of its own. Indeed, they almost certainly understate just how much the top of the political system is doing for its servants given that it is likely the authorities kill possible cases against officials even before they reach the courts (newizv.ru/article/general/11-08-2022/tsifra-dnya-femida-v-rossii-opravdyvaet-chinovnikov-v-12-raz-chasche-chem-prostyh-grazhdan).