Islamist Sapsan Plotters Receive Jail Sentences
Published: December 12, 2012 (Issue # 1739)
MOSCOW — The Moscow City Court on Monday handed down long prison sentences to four Muslim extremists who plotted to blow up the Sapsan high-speed train between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Islam Khamzhuyev, Falya Nevlyutov, Mansur Umayev and Mansur Edilbiyev were found guilty of attempting a terrorist act, “banditism” and illegal possession of explosives. They were sentenced to between 15 and 18 years in prison colonies, news agencies reported.
Prosecutors said all four are members of the Caucasus Emirate, an Islamist terrorist group that authorities blame for most recent terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus and other parts of Russia.
The suspects were convicted of planning to plant a bomb on the Sapsan’s tracks just north of Moscow. The bomb would have exploded underneath the train, which carries up to 600 passengers between the country’s two biggest cities.