By Country / Russia
Chechen Supreme Court Jails Maskhadov's Bodyguards
December 01, 2005
Late Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov (AFP)
The four men were detained on 8 March in the Chechen village of Tolstoi-Yurt where Maskhadov was killed during what Moscow says was a special operation by Russian forces.
The exact circumstances of Maskhadov's death remain unclear.
All four defendants were charged with participation in an illegal armed group and with illegally carrying weapons.
One of the defendants was sentenced to 15 years in a maximum-security penal colony, a second one to seven years in prison. The other two were sentenced to six years of imprisonment each.
(ITAR-TASS/www.rosbalt.ru)