Eight people convicted in Russia for the explosion on the Crimean Bridge have appealed to Trump, Zelensky, and Putin.

Eight people convicted in Russia in the case of the explosion on the Crimean Bridge in October 2022 have made a public appeal to world leaders and international human rights organizations. They claim that they had no involvement in organizing the explosion, were used “in the dark,” and became part of someone else’s operation without understanding its essence. This fact, the authors of the appeal emphasize, was previously publicly acknowledged by the former head of the SBU Vasyl Maliuk.

The appeal is addressed to the President of the United States Donald Trump, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. The letter is also sent to international human rights organizations. The convicted insist: their fate requires not a formal judicial approach, but a political solution — pardon or amnesty.

An appeal beyond judicial logic

The text of the letter is published by the human rights project Memorial as part of the “Support for Political Prisoners” initiative. The authors emphasize: they are not asking for a review of the evidence in Russian courts, but demand a humanitarian and political consideration of their situation.

All eight people describe themselves as ordinary people — drivers, logisticians, entrepreneurs. People living everyday lives and not involved in special operations or violent actions. Today they are called “terrorists” and sentenced to life imprisonment, although, according to them, they did not understand what they were involved in.

Logistics without knowledge of cargo content

The key argument of the convicted is the absence of intent. Their involvement, as they claim, was limited to the logistics of civilian cargo. It later turned out that it was disguised for transporting an explosive device.

They did not know and could not have known about the presence of explosives. They had no access to information about the contents, purpose of transportation, or final use of the cargo. It is this chain of circumstances, in their opinion, that became fatal.

A trial without doubts

Even public statements by the former head of the SBU about the non-involvement of these people in the preparation of the explosion did not affect the course of the case. The trial was initiated and concluded with the harshest sentence.

The proceedings went almost unnoticed by the public. There was no broad discussion, independent expertise, or analysis of the version of using people “blindly.” According to human rights defenders, the guilty were determined even before the hearings began.

The price of the sentence — broken families

Behind the legal formulations are specific human consequences. The children of the convicted are effectively left without fathers and ask a question that no one answers: when will dad return. Wives have lost husbands, parents — sons.

This side of the case is almost unheard in official reports, but it is precisely this, according to human rights defenders, that makes the situation not only legal but also humanitarian.

Political context and “invisible” convicts

Amid ongoing contacts and informal negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the topic of amnesties and humanitarian solutions is periodically raised. However, these eight people remain out of focus.

They are not prisoners of war. Not public activists. Not figures on the political scene. That is why their situation is especially vulnerable — they do not fit into any convenient political scenario.

A call for humanity

The authors of the appeal acknowledge: in the context of war, thousands of deaths, and destroyed cities, their fate may seem secondary. But they insist — humanitarian solutions are tested precisely in such cases.

Their request is addressed directly to world leaders: to listen, pay attention, and find a political mechanism that will allow them to be released and see their families again.

At the end of the appeal, the names are listed:

Artem Azatyan,
Georgy Azatyan,
Oleg Antipov,
Alexander Bylin,
Vladimir Zloba,
Roman Solomko,
Artur Terchanyan,
Dmitry Tyazhelykh.

Eight people sentenced to life imprisonment in the case of the explosion — without proven intent and without acknowledgment of involvement in its preparation. A story that remains a test of “legality” and political will — and which is recorded today by NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency.