Court convicts St. Petersburg couple who blackmailed, robbed gay men
A surprising bit of news from my home town of St. Petersburg came across my Twitter feed this afternoon.
According to the Fontanka online newspaper, the Krasnogvardeyskiy neighborhood court convicted married couple Ilya Vasil'yev and Yulia Semkina of robbery. Which in on itself wouldn't be big of a deal. But these two didn't just rob anyone. They specifically targeted gay men.
See, back in the winter of 2016, Semkina had her then-boyfriend Vasil'yev and an unnamed friend go on a gay dating site, invite a guy to meet up, take some compromising photos and blackmail them. In this modern Russia of ours, especially in a city that pioneered the "gay propaganda" law, they had plenty of reasons to keep their orientation quiet.
There is a special place in hell for the scumbags who exploit the fears of the vulnerable.
During one of those incidents... Well, the article isn't clear about what exactly happened, but somehow, the three wound up robbing one of their victims at knifepoint. And he did call the police.
In a bit of delicious irony, Vasil'yev and Semkina were arrested at their own wedding, and Semkina was booked in her own wedding dress.
Even though it was Semkina's idea, she got a two-year probation. Vasil'yev got two years and three months in a penal colony because, unlike his wife, he had a prior criminal record.
On one hand - I'm glad that those two scumbags didn't get away with it, and actually faced real punishment. On the other hand... according to the article, they blackmailed at least 10 more people - but none of them were willing to testify.
And, unless the Russian government treats sexual minorities changes, they probably never will.
According to the Fontanka online newspaper, the Krasnogvardeyskiy neighborhood court convicted married couple Ilya Vasil'yev and Yulia Semkina of robbery. Which in on itself wouldn't be big of a deal. But these two didn't just rob anyone. They specifically targeted gay men.
See, back in the winter of 2016, Semkina had her then-boyfriend Vasil'yev and an unnamed friend go on a gay dating site, invite a guy to meet up, take some compromising photos and blackmail them. In this modern Russia of ours, especially in a city that pioneered the "gay propaganda" law, they had plenty of reasons to keep their orientation quiet.
There is a special place in hell for the scumbags who exploit the fears of the vulnerable.
During one of those incidents... Well, the article isn't clear about what exactly happened, but somehow, the three wound up robbing one of their victims at knifepoint. And he did call the police.
In a bit of delicious irony, Vasil'yev and Semkina were arrested at their own wedding, and Semkina was booked in her own wedding dress.
Even though it was Semkina's idea, she got a two-year probation. Vasil'yev got two years and three months in a penal colony because, unlike his wife, he had a prior criminal record.
On one hand - I'm glad that those two scumbags didn't get away with it, and actually faced real punishment. On the other hand... according to the article, they blackmailed at least 10 more people - but none of them were willing to testify.
And, unless the Russian government treats sexual minorities changes, they probably never will.