Crimean slave owner imprisoned

The Crimean Prosecutor has obtained a real sentence for a person convicted of using five Crimean residents as slaves. The Crimean Prosecutor’s Office informs that in 2005 and 2006, a Simferopol resident forced the five using beating and threats to work for him. The prosecutor’s office entirely proved to the court that the man was guilty of the crime set down in Article 146 § 2 of the Criminal Code (unlawfully depriving a person of their liberty). The district court convicted the man and sentenced him to four years suspended sentence with a two year probation period. The prosecutor’s office considered the sentence inadequate and lodged a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court.  The latter agreed that the sentence had not been commensurate with the severity of the crime. The lenient sentence was revoked and the case sent back for a new examination, with the new sentence being for a real term of imprisonment).  This sentence has already come into force.