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MOSCOW COURT OPENS HEARING IN RACE-HATE GROUP TRIAL
RIA Novosti, Russia
Dec 19 2007
MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow City Court is to begin
on Wednesday considering the case of eight defendants charged with
a series of race-hate bombings that claimed 14 lives in the Russian
capital in 2006-2007.
The most high-profile of the group's attacks took place on August 21,
2006, when a bomb ripped through the multi-ethnic Cherkizovsky market
in the northwest of Moscow, killing 11 people, including two children,
and injuring over 40.
An investigation of the blast led police to the "Spas"
extreme-nationalist group, the leader of which is said to be a
25-year-old Muscovite, Nikolai Korolyov. The group waged a campaign
against "immigrants" and people of "non-Slavic appearance", and
operated under the cover of a martial-art club.
The alleged market bombers were detained on the day of the attack and
charged with premeditated murder on the grounds of ethnic and racial
hatred. The suspects later confessed that they had been motivated by
racial hatred, prosecutors said.
The group's remaining attacks were carried out on a student hall of
residence, a cafe, a clinic, a Muslim community center, an amusement
arcade, the offices of the Russky Vestnik newspaper, as well as
shopping centers.
Apart from the bombings, a number of the defendants are also charged
with the murder of an Armenian student in the Moscow Metro in 2006.
The initial hearing is to be closed for the public. The defendants'
lawyer said that his clients would seek trial by a jury.
Russia has seen a wave of racially-motivated crimes since the collapse
of the Soviet Union in 1991. Routine attacks by skinheads and young
gangs on foreigners and people with non-Slavic features are a regular
occurrence. However, authorities have been generally reluctant to
treat the attacks as race-hate crimes, portraying them instead as
acts of hooliganism.
The Vremya Novostei daily recently expressed concern that leading
politicians are remaining silent over rising xenophobic trends in
Russian society, saying that, "Today when 'the unification of the
nation' is declared a priority, it would be politically inconvenient
to admit the obvious nationalistic sentiments in the country".
RIA Novosti, Russia
Dec 19 2007
MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow City Court is to begin
on Wednesday considering the case of eight defendants charged with
a series of race-hate bombings that claimed 14 lives in the Russian
capital in 2006-2007.
The most high-profile of the group's attacks took place on August 21,
2006, when a bomb ripped through the multi-ethnic Cherkizovsky market
in the northwest of Moscow, killing 11 people, including two children,
and injuring over 40.
An investigation of the blast led police to the "Spas"
extreme-nationalist group, the leader of which is said to be a
25-year-old Muscovite, Nikolai Korolyov. The group waged a campaign
against "immigrants" and people of "non-Slavic appearance", and
operated under the cover of a martial-art club.
The alleged market bombers were detained on the day of the attack and
charged with premeditated murder on the grounds of ethnic and racial
hatred. The suspects later confessed that they had been motivated by
racial hatred, prosecutors said.
The group's remaining attacks were carried out on a student hall of
residence, a cafe, a clinic, a Muslim community center, an amusement
arcade, the offices of the Russky Vestnik newspaper, as well as
shopping centers.
Apart from the bombings, a number of the defendants are also charged
with the murder of an Armenian student in the Moscow Metro in 2006.
The initial hearing is to be closed for the public. The defendants'
lawyer said that his clients would seek trial by a jury.
Russia has seen a wave of racially-motivated crimes since the collapse
of the Soviet Union in 1991. Routine attacks by skinheads and young
gangs on foreigners and people with non-Slavic features are a regular
occurrence. However, authorities have been generally reluctant to
treat the attacks as race-hate crimes, portraying them instead as
acts of hooliganism.
The Vremya Novostei daily recently expressed concern that leading
politicians are remaining silent over rising xenophobic trends in
Russian society, saying that, "Today when 'the unification of the
nation' is declared a priority, it would be politically inconvenient
to admit the obvious nationalistic sentiments in the country".