Six men have been sentenced to prison in Moldova after being convicted of plotting to assassinate powerful politician and tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc, the head of the ruling Democratic Party.
A court in Chisinau found the six defendants guilty and pronounced the sentences shortly before midnight on April 2.
The group's leader, deputy chairman of Moldova's foundation to assist sports veterans, Valerian Zabolotnii, was handed a 20-year prison sentence, while the rest were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 11 years.
All six defendants had pleaded not guilty.
They were arrested in April 2017 in Moldova and Ukraine.
Moldovan authorities alleged at the time that the order to kill Plahotniuc was given to the group by fugitive Moldovan businessman Grigore Karamalak, whose exact whereabouts are unknown.