Evgeniya Khasis was released from prison.

Yevgenia Khasis, convicted in the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova, was released from prison today, having served her full sentence.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, in September 2011, the Russian Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeals against the verdict of Nikita Tikhonov and Evgenia Khasis, who were sentenced in May of that year to life imprisonment and 18 years in prison, respectively, for the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. In 2021, the ECHR ruled that the case was sent back for retrial. However, in January 2022, after questioning former jurors, the Russian Supreme Court decided not to resend the case for retrial, but reduced Khasis's sentence by one year. On September 13, RIA Novosti, citing court documents, reported that Khasis had been released from prison after 16 years. The defense denied this information.

Yevgenia Khasis, convicted more than 10 years ago in the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova, has been released from prison, RAPSI reported today, citing an informed source.

"Khasis has been released from prison, having served her full sentence, taking into account the latest decision on her case, made by the Supreme Court in 2022. "She is under administrative supervision, which consists of a number of restrictions," TASS reported, citing a law enforcement source.

Ren TV published a short clip of Khasis leaving a prison colony in Mordovia. A man with a masked face met her at the prison door. Khasis declined to answer questions about her health or future plans, and those accompanying her demanded the journalist clear the way.

As a reminder, Stanislav Markelov was one of the few lawyers who successfully secured convictions for military personnel for crimes in Chechnya. Markelov spoke to the security forces in a language they understood and will forever remain known for his role in the court cases of Yuri Budanov and Sergei Lapin, nicknamed "Cadet," human rights activist Alexander Cherkasov* stated earlier.

According to the court, on March 27, 2000, tank regiment commander Yuri Budanov captured 18-year-old Elza Kungayeva, whom he believed to be a militant sniper, and took her to his unit. There, the officer interrogated her, then strangled her and ordered soldiers to bury her body. There was evidence that the girl had been molested before her death, but investigators later decided not to look into this, according to the Caucasian Knot article "The Murder of Yuri Budanov".

Yusup Temirkhanov, a Chechen resident convicted of Budanov's murder, died in prison and was buried on August 4, 2018. Tens of thousands of people, including those from Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Georgia, flocked to the village of Geldagan for his funeral.

On the day of the funeral, Ramzan Kadyrov denied Temirkhanov's involvement in Budanov's murder, but acknowledged that the guilty verdict made Temirkhanov a national hero, "having avenged his dishonor" and the murder of Kungayeva. Experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" saw the glorification of Temirkhanov as an alarming signal about the readiness of Chechen residents to support the "avengers."

* is listed as a foreign agent.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.