Five migrants lose appeal for Chita rape

Five citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who raped a 15-year-old girl in the Aeroport settlement of Chita and were sentenced to terms in a strict-regime penal colony in August 2025, attempted to appeal the sentence. This was reported on 4 February by Yevgeny Sinelnikov, senior assistant to the prosecutor of Zabaykalsky Krai for media and public relations, to Chita.Ru.

The court sentenced them to terms ranging from 9 to 14 years to be served in a strict-regime penal colony.

The convicts and their lawyers filed complaints in which they requested acquittal. They claimed innocence: they said the girl had falsely accused them, and the case materials did not contain sufficient evidence.

However, the appellate court rejected these arguments and upheld the sentence. The guilt of the defendants was confirmed not only by the consistent and coherent testimony of the victim, but also by other evidence: expert conclusions, as well as the men«s behavior after the crime — they attempted to conceal traces and leave not only the region but also the country.

The convicts attacked the girl and raped her on the night of 6 June 2024. Grabbing the child and threatening with a knife, they forcibly dragged her into an abandoned house, where the assault took place. Two suspects were detained a few hours after the report to the police. Later, police detained three more foreign suspects at a border crossing in Buryatia while attempting to cross the border. They denied their guilt. The investigation was complicated by the fact that the accused did not speak Russian; interpreters were brought in each time.