Russian Teens Given Prison Sentences for Torturing Animals

Two women in Khabarovsk have been handed prison sentences after being found guilty of torturing animals and offending religious believers, the Interfax news agency reported Friday.

The case against Alina Orlova and Alena Savchenko was filed in the fall of 2016 after photographs of the women torturing animals surfaced on the Dvach web forum.

A screenshot of the women planning on social media to “shoot, chop, and slice!” their next animal victim appeared alongside the photographs. An incident involving an attack on a Khabarovsk woman with a bat and a pneumatic gun was also included in the case.

According to the Interfax news agency the women were both 17 at the time of their arrest in November though some Russian media reported they are in their early 20s.

Savchenko, who was also charged with insulting religious believers and inciting hatred, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison on Friday. The Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk judge handed Orlova a sentence of three years and ten days in prison.

The prosecution initially fought for a six-year sentence but both Orlova and Savchenko pleaded guilty to the crimes. 

Video footage of Savchenko bullying homeless people and offensive social media posts served as evidence for her extended sentence.

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