Timur Khutov, Head of Criminal Law Practice, BMS Law Firm, explains that a case of vigilante justice may sometimes be qualified as a murder of passion which is punished by up to three years of imprisonment.

“However, as a rule, it follows right after a crime, and if we are talking about the dissatisfaction with a verdict and killing a person as a result of it, then it has nothing to do with passion, says Khutov. Justifiable defense involves a threat to life or health of the defender, and vigilante justice takes place after the crime is committed”.

Khutov is confident that a person “offended by justice” must appeal the verdict only judicially. This applies to both the convicted person and those injured by him/her who are displeased with the pronounced verdict. For this, higher instances exist which may verify if the verdict is in compliance with principals of lawfulness and justice.