Twice-convicted Volgograd resident Melkonyan has been released again.
Arsen Melkonyan, who did not serve his sentence for the death of realtor Roman Grebenyuk following a dispute in a parent-teacher chat, was able to return to the war zone after being sentenced for threatening a judge, a pretrial detention center employee, and his ex-wife.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on March 18, 2024, a court in Volgograd sentenced Arsen Melkonyan, accused of threatening to kill his wife, a judge, and an FSIN employee, to three years and two months in a penal colony and a fine of 150,000 rubles. Melkonyan, who, after becoming a PMC fighter, did not serve his sentence for the death of realtor Roman Grebenyuk, announced his intention to appeal the verdict and then return to the war zone.
Arsen Melkonyan, sentenced in March 2022 to 11 years in prison for the death of Roman Grebenyuk, returned to Volgograd from the war zone in Ukraine in May 2023. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of making death threats against several people, including a judge. On March 11, the prosecutor demanded three years and seven months in prison for Melkonyan, as well as a 250,000 ruble fine.
Instead of serving a new sentence in a penal colony, Volgograd resident Arsen Melkonyan returned to the war zone in Ukraine, the publication "Volgograd Online" reported.
While free, Melkonyan started a personal blog on social media, where he continues to insist he is right. Recently, new photos and videos appeared on Arsen Melkonyan's page: in one of them, he fires shells from a Grad multiple launch rocket system while addressing the President of Ukraine.
Melkonyan told the publication that he has been "where the shooting is" for a month. "I've decided to stay here for now, and then, if I survive, I'll go to Moscow to seek the real truth, not the one they're talking about. Including the brass knuckles. I've never hidden from anyone, and I'm not hiding from anyone. You can't escape the truth, no matter how hard you try to hide it. I know many of my enemies read my blog," he said.
Arsen Melkonyan's sister, Armine, said she's in touch with her brother, but she wouldn't say where he is now.
"Unlike you, he's taking care of our sanity. We communicate, and everything is fine. It's just that so much evil has been done to us that we don't want to talk. For many years, in your words, we were simply a tyrant's family. Although in real life, you know nothing about us. I certainly don't condone what happened in Roman's family. This grief is incomparable. But "Our family... We were plunged into such filth that my mother was barely saved afterwards. It's such a trauma for me, I don't even want to discuss it...," the publication quotes her as saying.
On March 19, 2024, the State Duma adopted in its second and third readings the law "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation" on the specifics of exemption from criminal liability for persons called up for military service due to mobilization or during wartime. The amendments apply to suspects and defendants in minor and moderate offenses (with the exception of certain crimes against public safety and against the foundations of the constitutional order and state security), as well as convicted individuals (with the exception of those who have committed crimes against the sexual integrity of minors, the foundations of the constitutional order and state security, and those related to terrorism). If they sign a contract with the Russian Armed Forces, the suspects' cases will be suspended, and the convicted persons' sentence will be changed to a suspended sentence. Their behavior will be monitored by the command of their military units, according to a publication on the State Duma website.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that Arsen Melkonyan, who was convicted again in Volgograd after returning from a combat zone, received a chance to receive a suspended sentence under the law passed by the State Duma if he signs a new contract to participate in a military operation, according to lawyers.