The court twice acquitted a resident of Yekaterinburg who left an armed thug without a jaw.

      The Sverdlovsk Regional Court upheld the acquittal of Yekaterinburg resident Alexander Khasanov, who defended his wife's life during an attack by their knife-wielding drunken neighbor. This was reported by the unified press service of the region's courts.

      The attack on the couple occurred on the night of July 31, 2024, near one of the houses on Glavnaya Street in the Istok settlement (Oktyabrsky District) in Yekaterinburg.

      According to the case materials, around 1:30 AM, Alexander Khasanov went to meet his wife. At that time, a noisy group was drinking near the entrance. Alexander asked them to turn down the music. In response, one of the revelers, his neighbor, responded with foul language and began to threaten the man with a knife.

      Alexander decided not to engage in conflict and went to meet his wife. He told her what had happened, and together they decided to wait until the neighbor went back to his place. As a precaution, Alexander picked up a metal rod from the ground for self-defense.

      Near their home, the couple saw that the neighbor was approaching them with a knife in his outstretched hand. Khasanov hid his wife behind him and tried to strike the knife out of the attacker's hand with the rod, but missed and hit the attacker on the leg.

      The attacker grabbed the rod, cut Khasanov's arm, and then rushed to the entrance, where he began to beat his wife on the head and back with the metal rod, after which he stabbed her in the stomach. The injured woman fell to her knees, and the neighbor raised the knife to strike her in the head.

      Seeing this, Alexander picked up the discarded rod and struck the attacker several chaotic blows to the head. After neutralizing the thug, he called for an ambulance.

      The neighbor had his jaw severed by the rod. Alexander Khasanov was charged with intentionally causing serious harm to health. However, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Yekaterinburg issued an acquittal for Alexander Khasanov in February. The court recognized that the man acted in a state of necessary defense, protecting his wife from an armed attack.

      Based on the evidence presented, the court concluded that Khasanov acted solely within the limits of necessary defense, protecting his injured wife from further encroachments on her life. Therefore, causing serious harm is not a crime.

      According to paragraph 10 of the Supreme Court's Plenary Resolution No. 19 dated September 27, 2012, "On the application of legislation on necessary defense and harm caused during the detention of a person who committed a crime," if a person is attacked with violence that genuinely threatens their life or that of another person, they have the right to inflict any harm on the attacker in terms of force and consequences while defending themselves.

      Alexander Khasanov was acquitted due to the absence of a crime and has the right to rehabilitation, ruled the Oktyabrsky District Court. However, the acquittal was appealed by the victim, his defender, and the prosecutor.

      Following the appellate review, the appellate court found no grounds for overturning the verdict. The judicial act was deemed lawful and justified.

      The neighbor was convicted of attempted murder of the woman and causing moderate harm to Alexander Khasanov.

      Recall that in April, the Kirovsky District Court of Yekaterinburg sent 23-year-old Mikhail Likhano to pre-trial detention for the murder of a previously unknown man in the courtyards of UKM.