Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted the release from prison of Nikolai Ogolobyak, a self-proclaimed cannibalistic Satanist who was found guilty of eating the remains of two adolescents.
The disclosure ensued subsequent to Ogolobyak's involvement in Putin's conflict in Ukraine, as per The Sun.
Putin Frees Russian Cannibal Killer
Ogolobyak, now 33 years old, had served 13 years of his original 20-year prison sentence for his role in the ritualistic killings of four Russian teenagers before being recruited into Putin's army.
The horrifying crimes took place in 2008 when Ogolobyak was part of a sect of Satanists in Yaroslavl, Russia, consisting of six other members. The group engaged in gruesome rituals that included animal sacrifices and desecrating human graves.
They drugged and stabbed three girls and one boy, all aged between 16 and 17, a total of 666 times with daggers. Afterward, they dismembered the victims and cooked their remains over a bonfire during a two-night ritual. The criminals also recited a Satanist text found on the Internet during these horrific acts.
The victims, Anya Gorokhova, Olga Pukhova, Varya Kuzmina, and Andrei Sorokin, suffered a gruesome fate at the hands of the cult. Ogolobyak and his accomplices even posed with the severed heads of their victims for photographs. The cult cooked and ate the victims' tongues and hearts as part of their ritualistic practices.
Ogolobyak received the harshest sentence of 20 years in prison because he was the only member of the group who was of legal age at the time of the murders. The other members, who were under 18, received lesser sentences, according to Mail Online.
Controversy Surrounds Ogolobyak's Release
The gruesome crimes were discovered in August 2008 when the victims' body parts were found in a pit near Ogolobyak's apartment building. Investigators also found a small rodent crucified on an upside-down cross at the scene.
Despite the heinous nature of the crimes, Ogolobyak has been pardoned by Putin after serving only six months in Ukraine as part of Russia's 'Storm Z' unit for convicts. His release has caused outrage and raised concerns about the policy of releasing prisoners who have fought in Putin's war in Ukraine.
Since the start of this policy, more than 30 people have been killed by released convicts who returned to Russia. Putin has defended this practice by saying that these convicts "atone with blood for crimes on the battlefield."
This shocking case has highlighted the dark side of Putin's war effort and the controversial release of prisoners involved in gruesome crimes, leading to growing alarm across Russia.
Ogolobyak, the first known Satanist cannibal killer to be pardoned, now lives with his mother after sustaining severe injuries during his war service in Ukraine.
The decision to release him has reignited debates about the consequences of such actions and the potential threat posed by those returning from the war zone.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has not commented on the situation, and the release of Ogolobyak continues to raise questions about the Russian government's policies regarding pardons for criminals involved in heinous acts, Newsbreak reported.
