Court upholds sentence for 2017 Rostov-on-Don fire

The Fourth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction refused to satisfy appeals against the sentence in the case of a major fire in Rostov-on-Don in 2017. The decision of the Proletarsky District Court, issued in October 2024 regarding employees of «Donenergo», remained unchanged.

The fire occurred on August 21, 2017. Its area was about 10,000 square meters. As a result, a disabled pensioner who failed to leave the house in time died. Dozens of people received medical attention.

The family of the deceased was paid a one-time compensation of 1.5 million rubles (approximately $15,000 at current rates) from the budget. However, many other fire victims faced difficulties in receiving payments, especially those who lost documents or were not registered at their place of residence.

The investigation established that the cause of the fire was a short circuit in the electrical wiring. The head of the Eastern RES Pavel Trunov received 2 years and 2 months of restriction of freedom, but was released due to the statute of limitations expiring. The senior site foreman Igor Bezzemelny died, and the case against him was terminated. Criminal prosecution of former deputy Marina Belyaeva was also terminated due to the statute of limitations expiring.

Pavel Trunov did not admit guilt and appealed the sentence. The appellate and cassation appeals were dismissed. In the cassation court, the applicants «insisted on the unproven guilt, denied the short circuit version, and questioned the reliability of the damage established by the courts,» the press service of the department reported.