A convict who has been serving his sentence in a penal colony since 2011 became an accomplice to a new extortion racket without leaving the correctional facility. The court ultimately sentenced him to 8 years' imprisonment for taking part in a crime he committed via video call.
HOW THE CONVICT TOOK PART IN THE EXTORTION
According to the Cassation Court, the convict's accomplices held two men in a sauna in Petropavlovsk and demanded money from them. To increase the pressure, they connected the convict, who was at the correctional facility at the time, to a video call.
Via the video link, the convict, together with the other participants, demanded that the victims hand over the money under threat of violence. Thus, while in the colony, he directly took part in the extortion.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE SAUNA IN PETROPAVLOVSK
Under pressure, the men took out online loans of 300,000 tenge and 145,000 tenge. They transferred the money to the extortionists' accounts.
The convict's involvement was confirmed by mobile operator data. The number belonged to him, and billing records showed that at the time of the call the phone was on the territory of the correctional facility. Bank records confirmed that the victims had taken out online loans.
WHY THE CONVICT RECEIVED A NEW SENTENCE
In 2011, the man was sentenced to 21 years and 9 months' imprisonment. He committed the new extortion while serving that sentence.
The court of first instance sentenced him to a further 3 years' imprisonment under Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan(“Extortion”). Taking into account the previous sentence and the application of Article 60 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (“Imposition of punishment by cumulative sentences”), the final term was 8 years.
WHAT THE CASSATION COURT DECIDED
The convict appealed against the sentence, but the Cassation Court found the conclusions of the lower courts well-founded and left the judicial acts unchanged.
