A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in the fatal beating of a father of two outside the Orange Julep restaurant in Montreal. Nedjem Eddine Khirat was found guilty of manslaughter last month and is the third man to be convicted following the death of 50-year-old Andrei Petuhov. Petuhov died from his injuries two days after he was seriously beaten in the Orange Julep parking lot on May 31, 2023, following an altercation with a group of young men. On Tuesday, Superior Court Justice Dennis Galiatsatos said Khirat will be credited for time served in pre-trial custody, meaning he will serve seven years and 11 months in prison. He delivered his sentence as the families of the accused and the victim listened. The judge called Khirat’s actions “nothing short of repugnant” when he kicked Petuhov while he was already motionless on the ground. “He acted out of pure aggression. His moral culpability is very high, and his actions must be strongly condemned,” Galiatsatos wrote in his 67-page judgment. “To make matters worse, after seriously injuring Petuhov, Khirat and his friends fled the scene, leaving the victim to fend for himself without making the slightest effort to call for help. The attack was characterized by extreme violence and Khirat’s behaviour afterwards was tantamount to a celebration.” Khirat must submit a sample of his DNA and is banned from possessing any weapons as part of his sentence. When Justice Galiatsatos found Khirat guilty on June 3, 2026, he said his version of events was not credible. He also rejected his argument that he was afraid and was acting in self-defence when he delivered a “violent” and “gratuitous” kick to Petuhov’s motionless body, “as he would a soccer ball.” The attack was captured on surveillance video. “Khirat’s version is based on an alternate reality that requires setting common sense aside and ignoring the video evidence, which is, after all, independent and objective,” Galiatsatos wrote in his judgment. “The defendant did not act in self-defence. He acted under the influence of anger, frustration, and bravado. He fully participated in the fatal assault and, as a result, is guilty of manslaughter.” He also lied to police when he was interrogated “to avoid the unfortunate consequences of his actions.” In her victim impact statement, Petuhov’s wife, Sandra Mastronunzio, wrote that losing her husband has caused “unbearable” pain and that his death has left an enormous void in her and her children’s lives. “Andrei was a loving father, husband, brother-in-law, friend, coworker; he loved his kids with all his heart and supported them when they needed it. My children lost their father, their hero, they will never see him again,” she wrote. “My husband’s life was not just a statistic, he was an irreplaceable, hard working and amazing man who loved life and whose life was cut at 50 years old.” Petuhov donated his organs, saving three lives, “and to us he will always be the winner,” she added. Before his trial, Khirat did not have a criminal record. On Tuesday, the judge cast doubt on Khirat’s prospects for rehabilitation after serving his sentence. While he said the trial and prison time will be a constant reminder to avoid confrontations, his conduct during and after the attack “reveal his true character, which is marked by deeply ingrained anti-social values.” The conclusion of the trial marks the end of the Orange Julep case as two other men have already been convicted in the deadly assault. Ismail Karaoui, who delivered the first blow to Petuhov, was arrested in France following the attack and extradited to Canada to face charges. He had been on a Canada-wide and international arrest warrant after fleeing the scene of the crime. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to just under two years after being credited for time already served in jail in pre-trial custody. He will also be placed on probation for two years after he’s released with several conditions. He is also banned from possessing any weapons and must submit a sample of his DNA. Yasser Sali pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to aggravated assault and to being an accessory after the fact to the homicide of Petuhov after learning on June 9, 2023, that the victim had died. He was sentenced to just under two years in prison.
