Extremists Sentenced In Russia
June 24, 2009
BARNAUL -- A court in the Siberian region of Altai Krai has convicted five men on charges of manslaughter and hate crimes targeting minorities, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
The group, including one young man under 18, was convicted of carrying out at least 10 attacks against representatives of ethnic minorities in the city of Barnaul in 2007.
One Azeri and one Altaian were killed during the spree, and a Chinese, a Tajik, and a Tuvan were severely injured.
The purported leader of the group, Aleksandr Kelber, was sentenced to 23 years in prison, while others were given jail terms of from 9 1/2 to 19 years.
The trial was closed to the public.