The Investigative Committee of Russia charged the initiators of the Perm school stabbing incident with an attempted murder of two and more persons, including minors, committed by a group of individuals in collusion (Part 3, Article 30, Paragraphs «а,в,ж», Part 2, Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code), as it flows from a report by the Investigative Committee.

There are certain aspects to be considered when analyzing potential developments of the criminal case initiated following the events which occurred in the Perm school. First, the age of the accused will matter, second, they may perform an expert examination to verify their sanity.

So for, the criminal case was initiated under Article 105 and normative rules on unconsummated offense (“attempted murder of two and more persons, including minors, committed by a group of individuals in collusion”).

The Investigative Committee of Russia formally recognized that a planned assault took place, so the qualification of the crime is unlikely to be changed. “It is no doubt that the accused will awarded a severe punishment since the danger to the public is very high in this case”, said Timur Khutov, Head of Criminal Law Practice, BMS Law Firm.

However, considering the rules of law on unconsummated murder and rules of imposing punishment on minors, i.e. Article 66 of the Russian Criminal Code, Paragraph 3, the sentence or the scope of punishment for an attempted murder cannot exceed three quarters of the maximum sentence or the scope of the most severe form of punishment provided for by a relevant article of the Special part of the Criminal Code for a consummated murder.

A judge will take into account all the circumstances, including why the crime was not completed, the motives of the crime, etc. If talking about the sentence, it will most likely be a 7 year imprisonment.