Vitaly Timofeyenko

"It was a fleeting thing. I felt sorry for the kid."

This is how 38-year-old Vitaly Timofeyenko, a resident of the town of Raduzhny in the Vladimir region, explained his act. At a rally in support of Alexei Navalny in Vladimir on 23 January 2021, he sprayed a gas canister in the face of a policeman when he tried to detain one of the protesters. "I just started to get through the crowd - I saw that the guy was lying on the snow, that he was wheezing, that he was being held, I even find it difficult to say, by how many people," Timofeyenko told the court hearing.

The policeman suffered a chemical burn to his eye. Timofeyenko was immediately detained. At the trial he fully admitted guilt, repented and apologised to the victim. The policeman accepted the apology.

Vitaly Timofeyenko works as a fitter at a local production facility. His colleagues told the court that Vitaly is hardworking, tactful and always ready to help. Neighbours recalled that he had been working part-time since he was 14 years old, helping his mother.

On 5 March 2021, Timofeyenko was sentenced to three years in a general regime colony. On 15 December 2023, he was released.