Russian Court Clears 17 Of Killing Vietnamese Youth

Vietnamese students in St. Petersburg hold a picture of Vu An Tuan (file photo) (ITAR-TASS)

March 1, 2007 -- Russia's Supreme Court today upheld a decision by a court in St. Petersburg to clear 17 young men charged with stabbing a Vietnamese student to death in 2004.

The court rejected the prosecution's appeal against the men's acquittal in October 2006 in St. Petersburg. Witnesses of the murder say the 20-year-old victim, Vu An Tuan, was attacked by a group of young men dressed like skinheads.

Russia has seen a wave of racist attacks in past years, many of them in St. Petersburg.

(Reuters, Interfax)