Daria Trepova, accused in the case of the death of the war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, in a letter to Bumaga journalists from the pre-trial detention center, said that she started going to the military correspondent’s lectures because she was going to take up journalism and was convinced that she was conducting an investigation.
Bumaga sent questions to Trepova through the Zonatelecom service in mid-May. Her response was dated August 24, but journalists only received it in October by regular mail.
“Since the beginning of the Northern Military District, I have been looking for an opportunity to go as a volunteer to a combat zone — to provide humanitarian and medical assistance to civilian victims (after all, I actually have a medical education). I wrote to a journalist and military correspondent I knew, with whom I became friends on social networks, and asked if he could help me,” Trepova wrote.
According to the girl, the friend promised to think about it, and six months later he told her that he could organize moving and at the same time “offered to try his hand at journalism and help him a little.” After this, Trepova began attending Tatarsky’s lectures, introducing herself by a different name — this, as the girl explained, seemed reasonable to her “under the conditions of military censorship.”
“I was told that I was conducting investigative journalism. And of course, I didn’t know that I would have to give something. At the same time, I wrote articles and we prepared them with that journalist,” added Trepova.
She added that she lost her job at the time: “They also told me they would help me with work. At least they didn’t deceive me in one thing — I will now be provided with housing and work for a long time,” said the accused.
Tatarsky died in an explosion in a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg on April 2. Before this, he received a figurine that had a bomb inside. According to the Investigative Committee, 52 people were injured of varying severity as a result of the explosion. The next day, security forces detained the suspect in transferring the figurine to Trepov.
On April 4, the court arrested the girl in the case of committing a terrorist attack by a group of persons resulting in the death of a person (clause “b” of Part 3 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code), illegal trafficking in explosive devices (Part 4 of Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code) and forgery of documents (Part 4 of Article 327 of the Criminal Code). The day before, the Prosecutor General's Office filed a final charge against her. The case will be considered by the 2nd Western District Military Court.