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A RUSSIAN student accused of blowing up a pro-Putin propagandist has said her intention was not to kill and her “conscience was clear”.
Bile-monger Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, was killed instantly in a fireball explosion after Darya Tryopova, 26, presented him with a mysterious statue.
Daria Trepova, 26, could face up to 28 years for the alleged killing of a Putin supporter[/caption] Top war propaganda blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a restaurant bombing[/caption] Suspect Daria Trepova, 26, was filmed moments after passing the box with a bomb to Tatarsky[/caption]Russian prosecutors have accused Darya of “killing Tatarsky in the terror incident”.
They claim she deliberately passed the bomb to Tatarsky on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence.
However, Darya – who has admitted her links to Ukrainian intelligence – denies knowing that she was carrying an explosive device.
She insists she believed the figure contained a listening device which would be used to eavesdrop on Tatarsky.
The art student, who was presented in a court in St Petersburg, said: “I thought there was a wiretap in the figurine, not a bomb.
“My conscience is clear.
“I was basically sent to my death with a bomb [by Ukrainian handlers].”
“I am very pained and ashamed that my naivety and gullibility led to such catastrophic consequences,” she told victims and their relatives in court.
Tatarsky was leading a discussion at the cafe St Petersburg in front of around 100 people when the blast tore through the place, injuring 30 others.
The venue was owned by mercenary warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the brutal Wagner Group.
Footage captured Darya strolling past the cafe while clutching a cardboard box shortly before the explosion.
Wearing a long coat, she was seen walking past the building before she returned a large package – which contained the explosive.
She then handed over the bust to Tatarsky, which soon exploded and took his life.
Police soon arrested Darya on suspicion of her involvement in the bombing.
She was detained by the FSB and Investigative Committee in St Petersburg after they raided her rented flat close to the scene of the blast.
Chilling pictures had previously emerged of the female suspect sitting on the floor while bound to a radiator.
Russian interrogators were seen demanding she answer questions about her role in the violent killing.
Her lawyer Daniil Berman said Trepova: “[Darya] did not know and could not have known what was inside the bust.
“She had remained in the explosion zone after handing the statue and could have been killed,” suggesting she did not know it was a bomb.
Despite the statements, Darya’s trial has been fast-tracked and she is set to be jailed for 28 years – more than the limit for women murderers in Russia.
“The prosecutor asks the court to find Trepova guilty and sentence her to 28 years in a general-security prison colony with a fine of 800,000 rubles (£7,000),” St. Petersburg’s court system said via Telegram.
A judge will rule on the verdict and sentence on Thursday.
Daria Trepova (marked), sat close to Vladlen Tatarsky moments before the explosion that took his life[/caption]