"Black Hawks" receive 4-7 years of imprisonment

The Dorogomilovo District Court of Moscow has passed its decision on the case of "Black Hawks". The figurants in the case, accused of attacking two students in Moscow, were found guilty of nationalism-instigated hooliganism. Arutyunov was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment, Guseinov - to 6 years, and Mamedov - to 5 years. The remaining three defendants were sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment each with serving their terms in a minimum security colony.

At the moment of committing the crime and announcing the verdict many of the defendants were still minors; therefore they will serve their terms at juvenile correctional facilities, others - in a minimum security colony. The state prosecutor expressed complete support by the prosecutor's office of the verdict - their initial demand was 4-7 years of imprisonment.

After the judge has announced the verdict, the defendants' relatives burst into tears, saying that the trial was unfair.

Tatiana Prilipko, advocate of defendant Mamedov from lawyer's firm MKA "Na Maloy Dmitrovke", told about her intention to appeal against the verdict. She explained that the court had failed to prove Mamedov's participation in the fight, and should it have appointed three years of conditional imprisonment, as they had hoped, they would not have appealed against it.

One of the high-ranking officers of the MIA told the journalist in private conversation that if they had not placed the video record of the fight in the Internet, the punishment would have been much more lenient, as the video was the main proof of their guilt.

Well prior to the verdict, during a break, rumours circulated among journalists that nationalists had threatened with death to the defendants, should they get conditional terms. According to Ms Prilipko, after Khalilov's murder the relatives of those defendants who remained at large took increased protection measures and round-the-clock security.

Some of the journalists reported that during the break announced by the court for making the decision the nationalists who grouped outside the building made a demonstrative execution using a toy cock as a victim.