Convicted of murder, a man from Saratov returned from the front and again ended up in a pre-trial detention center

A resident of Saratov, sentenced to 20 years for murder, returned from the war in Ukraine and again ended up in a pre-trial detention center on the charge of intentionally causing serious harm to health with the use of a weapon. This is reported by the TV channel “Dozhd”.

It is not known when 35-year-old Dmitry Semenov was recruited to PMC “Wagner”, but it follows from the latest sentence that it happened no earlier than May 2022. As “Dozhd” found out, Semenov returned from the war with a pardon, having served eight out of 20 years for killing a passerby. In total, by the time he was recruited into the PMC, he had six convictions.

In 2012, the court sentenced Semenov to 20 years in a high-security prison for murder. In September 2011, together with an accomplice, he agreed to rob a passer-by, a 26-year-old bank employee. During the attack, Semenov stabbed the man several times, which is why he died.

Semenov’s term was twice extended under the article on the disorganization of the work of the colony for attacks on employees. In total, he had to spend another 15 years in the colony.

It is not known when Semenov returned from the war. As a rule, prisoners recruited into PMC “Wagner” were pardoned six months after leaving for the front. Probably, by the end of the summer, Semenov was already at home — and in August 2023, he was arrested again.

Appealing against the arrest, Semenov called himself a fighter of PMC “Wagner”, who received “multiple awards” and the president’s pardon. The judge considered this argument “not decisive.”

The reason for Semenov’s latest arrest has not been disclosed. However, “Dozhd” found a press release of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the region, which exactly coincides with the accusation brought against Semenov, as well as with his age and other data. According to this information, a “repeatedly convicted” resident of Saratov stabbed a man on the street because he allegedly “insulted his acquaintance.”

• After the start of the war with Ukraine, Russia regularly releases murderers, rapists, and those convicted of other serious crimes. Relatives of those killed and injured protest, but to no avail.
• By November, according to journalists’ estimates, Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned at least 17 people previously convicted of murder. All of them participated in the war in Ukraine and returned from the front to freedom. Some have already committed new crimes.