The previous guv of Russias Khabarovsk region, Sergei Furgal, was found guilty of murder by a Moscow region court on Thursday, according to state-run news firm RIA Novosti.The case versus Furgal dates from 2020, when two years into his first term as Khabarovsk governor he was jailed and charged with the double murder of businessman Yevgeny Zori and former law enforcement officers Oleg Bulatov, the tried murder of businessman Alexander Smolsky and running a criminal gang associated with cash laundering, in what were widely viewed as politically motivated charges.
As the jury in the event announced their guilty decision, including that the implicated did not be worthy of leniency, Furgal screamed that he repented for the jury members.The guilty decision leaves Furgal dealing with life jail time.
He is due to be sentenced on Feb.
6.
Furgal came to prominence in Russia in 2018 when, as the candidate for the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party, he exceeded the Kremlins candidate to win the Khabarovsk gubernatorial race, representing a very unusual electoral loss for Putins United Russia celebration.
Following his arrest, Furgal was eliminated from workplace by President Vladimir Putin due to loss of confidence, and replaced by a questionable but more Kremlin-friendly member of his celebration.
Furgal then invested two years in pre-trial detention in Moscows infamous Lefortovo prison till his trial began in May.Furgal revealed he was going on hunger strike in November over what he claimed were several abnormalities in the prosecution of his case, which he argued made up a violation of his legal rights.During his two-year stint as guv, Furgal proved to be a popular political leader and his arrest and elimination from workplace resulted in months-long protests attracting tens of countless individuals in Khabarovsk, in addition to in other cities throughout Russia.