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Supreme Court to review appeal against verdict in Moscow football fan attack case

The hearing is scheduled for July 29

MOSCOW, July 9 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Supreme Court on July 29 will review an appeal against the verdict for Bekkhan Rizvanov, sentenced for attempted murder of football fan Alexei Usachyov near the Yevropeisky shopping mall last summer.

"The hearing to review the appeal is set for July 29," the court said on its website.

On April 29, Moscow City Court sentenced Rizvanov to eight years in a maximum security penitentiary. The sentence was meted out on the strength of a jury verdict.

The prosecutor had demanded 14 years for Rizvanov.

Judge Lyubov Nikolenko meted out the minimal punishment to Rizvanov under the penal code article, taking into account his positive references and absence of previous criminal convictions. The court took a critical view of the defense's position alleging Rizvanov's self-defense, underlining that this view was based on the unanimous conclusion by the jury.

The audacious crime committed by a group, and its public danger make a suspended sentence impossible, Nikolenko said. The court also restricted Rizvanov's freedom by two years after serving his sentence. He will live these two years in his native Chechnya.

The defendant's father said he would appeal the verdict. The conflict broke out "in a mutual clash," and a knife was used in response to the injured parties' shooting their non-lethal pistol.

Earlier, a panel of jurors found Bekkhan Rizvanov, 22, guilty of the attempted murder. He did not deserve clemency, jurors said.

Rizvanov, accused of attempted murder for hooligan motives, pleaded not guilty and insisted on softer charges /malicious infliction of grave harm to health/.

The maximum penalty for attempted murder is 15 years in prison.

Magomed Eldiyev, 21, who is on the run, was charged in absentia with attempted murder for hooligan motives within the same case. A court sanctioned his arrest in absentia, and Eldiyev was put on the international wanted list.

Investigators said Eldiyev had been employed at the Zamoskovorechye district bailiff department as a specialist responsible for the safety of judges and participants in the trial and security in the building of the court.

On June 5, 2012, Rizvanov, using a small pretext, stabbed Usachyov twice in the chest, while unidentified persons fired a non-lethal gun at Usachyov's friend Yevgeny Pavlov, wounding him in the leg.