Alexander Emelianenko’s parole delayed after prosecutor appeal

Though originally scheduled to be released on October 28, Alexander Emelianenko remains in jail following an appeal from the prosecutor office over the terms of the parole.

Emelianenko, who was convicted and sentenced to 4.5 years for rape and kidnapping in 2015, earned parole after serving less than a year-and-a-half of his sentence. Reports confirmed that the younger brother of MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko was to be released from prison three years early for “good behavior” and will instead be forced to complete “two years and 23 days of correctional labor with a 10% deduction of the convict’s salary going to the state.”

According to Tass.ru, however, the prosecutor filed an appeal under article 70 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code, which states an “objection to the terms of hard labour.” The court cannot prescribe more than two years of hard labour. Emelianenko’s case exceeded that by 23 days.

“Just before the end of the working day on Thursday, they came to us with the prosecutor's appeal submission,” a court spokesperson told the state-run Russian outlet.

The former PRIDE fighter was convicted of sexual assault, "kidnapping" by withholding a passport, and the forced use of "narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances" on 27-year-old Polina Stepanova. Emelianenko allegedly stole his substitute housekeeper's passport from her purse while she was cleaning the house and extorted her for sexual favours, while forcing her to consume narcotics. The fighter was sentenced to 4.5 years despite pleading not guilty to all the charges levied against him and claiming that all dealings with the victim were "consensual."

According to Emelianenko’s lawyer, who was asked to offer a statement on behalf of his client following the parole announcement, revealed that Alexander had no intention of apologizing to the victim.

Listen to Karim Zidan discuss Alexander Emelianenko’s return and its implications on the Russian MMA scene here.