Muscovite sentenced for setting fire to apartment door on Telegram order

A Moscow resident has been detained and sentenced after setting fire to the door of an apartment in a residential building on Leninsky Prospekt as part of an assignment allegedly received through Telegram.

According to information obtained by MK, the young man found an offer in a Telegram chat to set fire to an apartment in exchange for payment. The task was divided between two people: one was supposed to place rubbish near the apartment door and set it alight, while the other was tasked with filming the act on a mobile phone and sending the footage to the person who had commissioned it.

The Moscow resident met with an accomplice, and the two bought a canister of gasoline before travelling together to the address specified in the assignment. They set fire to the apartment door, recorded the incident and fled the scene.

The fire was quickly extinguished and did not result in serious consequences. Police subsequently detained one of the alleged arsonists, who had filmed the incident.

The Gagarinsky District Court sentenced him to 18 months in prison, suspended, with a two-year probation period.

By Tamilla Hasanova