Forty-Two Sentenced To Prison In Kazakh Terrorism Trial

Onlookers outside wait outside the court in Atyrau.

ATYRAU, Kazakhstan -- The trial of 47 men charged with terrorism has ended in the western Kazakh city of Atyrau .

The court on April 18 sentenced 42 of them to prison terms from 6 to 12 years for creating a terrorist group and preparing or carrying out explosions in Atyrau and other towns in the region.

RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports that the other five men were sentenced to prison terms from 5 to 15 years on April 2.

The trial, which started on March 26, was held behind closed doors.

The suspects were arrested after two explosions in Atyrau in October 2011 which killed one suspected suicide bomber.

A group called Jund al-Khilafah (Soldiers of the Caliphate), a "brigade" of Islamist fighters based on the Afghan-Pakistani border, claimed credit for the bombings in an Internet statement.