Case of attacks on foreigners in Astrakhan brought to court

Investigators have submitted to the court a criminal case against five residents of Astrakhan, accused of beating citizens of "non-Slavic" appearance. There are six victims in the case, including citizens of Vietnam and South Africa.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that, according to the investigators, in June 2012, a 20-year-old resident of Astrakhan created and de facto led a grouping and engaged his nine friends in its activities. According to the investigators, the grouping was active during two years, and six persons suffered from the actions of its members.

According to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), members of the grouping were of radical nationalist views and guided by motives of ideological and national hatred and enmity.

The ICRF's Department for the Astrakhan Region charged the leader of the grouping under Part 1 of Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Organization of an extremist grouping", and the other members of the grouping were charged under Part 2 of Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Involvement in activities of an extremist grouping". The Article stipulates the maximum penalty of up to eight years of imprisonment.