Persons accused of blowing up Nevinnomyssk bus are under threat of long imprisonment

The state prosecutor has demanded to sentence the defendants accused of exploding the "Pyatigorsk-Stavropol" route bus at the bus station of the city of Nevinnomyssk, Stavropol Territory, in December 2007, when three passengers were killed and 17 wounded, to long terms of imprisonment.

We remind you that the Stavropol Territorial Court began considering this criminal case on August 5.

The public prosecutor has demanded to sentence Ruslan Kostoev and Zurab Tsuroev to 25 and 24 years of imprisonment accordingly; both should spend their first five years in prison, and the remained term - in a strict custody colony, the "Interfax" has reported today.

The Stavropol Territorial Court plans to announce the verdict on September 9.

The defendants refuse to plead guilty. Ruslan Kostoev's advocate is categorically rejecting the charge that his client was a militant. Mr Kostoev is a former employee of the State Drugs Control Service of Ingushetia; he said that he had been awarded and encouraged for his service, the NTV Channel reported. According to his advocate, the defendant was exposed to torture and pressure in the cell of pre-trial custody.

Ruslan Kostoev has only admitted illegal storage of explosives, the "Gazeta" newspaper writes. As to Zurab Tsuroev, he has categorically rejected all the charges.