Russian woman accused of killing rapist gets full acquittal

When the young woman was trying to defend herself against the rapist, she stabbed him in the leg

The state prosecutor dropped the charges with regard to Alexandra Ivannikova accused of killing the rapist. Her case may be closed on the next court session.

According to a spokesperson for the Lyublinsky Court of Moscow, the state prosecutor requested to close the case and acquit Ms. Ivannikova. In his opinion, she was acting in a state of necessary defense. Ms. Ivannikova recently made a statement saying that she was not under the influence of alcohol at the moment of murder. An expert in narcotics verified her statement.

The next court session is slated for November 25th. The court is expected to decide the case during the coming session, Interfax reports.

This June the Lyublinsky Court ruled that Alexandra Ivannikova was guilty of committing a crime stipulated by the Russian Penal Code in the article regarding “Manslaughter committed in a state of uncontrollable impulse.” Ms. Ivannikova got a suspended sentence of two years in jail. She was also told to pay more than 200,000 rubles in damages to relatives of the killed.

The court took into consideration a number of mitigating circumstances e.g. Ms. Ivannikova has a baby boy. One month later the Moscow City Court canceled the verdict of the Lyublinsky Court and sent the case for reconsideration, NTV reports.

According to the prosecution, the defendant asked the driver of a car to give her a lift home on December 8th, 2003. She reportedly promised to pay 100 rubles for the ride. Some time later the driver assaulted her in an attempt to force Ms. Ivannikova to have sexual relations with him. Acting in self-defense, the woman stuck a knife into the rapist's leg. As a result, the man bled to death.

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