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Petersburg nationalist agrees to plea bargain

Gang members took video recordings of their crimes and placed them on the Internet, which enabled police to detain suspects

ST PETERSBURG, May 3 (Itar-Tass) — A defendant in the case against a group of nationalists has signed a plea bargain agreement. "The criminal proceedings against him now make a separate case," spokesman for the department of the Investigative Committee /SK/ for St Petersburg Sergei Kapitonov told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

Investigators believe Georgy Timofeyev, 21, set up the gang which committed dozens of serious crimes in the period from 2009 through 2010, including attempted murders, and bombed a bus stop in the Krasnogvardeisky district of the city.

"The gang comprised ten young people aged 17 to 24. "Their activity was aimed at inciting racial and ethnic hate and strife towards natives of the Caucasus, Asia and Africa. Also, their actions were based on the principles of intolerance of the persons leading asocial lifestyle," Kapitonov said.

Gang members took video recordings of their crimes and placed them on the Internet, which enabled police to detain suspects.

"The gang was noted for precise planning and discipline, repeated commission of extremist crimes, stability, similar organizational and psychological outlooks of its members and the identical method of the commission of crimes," the SK said.

Tmofeyev was charged with seven murders, four attempted murders, inciting hate or strife, illegal turnover of weapon,s ammunition, explosives and bombs and terrorist attack.

Earlier, gang member Dmitry Nedugov, who had signed a plea bargain agreement, was sentenced to 4.5 years in jail.

Other gang members are reading their case materials at present. The case against them is expected to be sent to court before the end of this year.

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