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Suspect involved in St. Petersburg subway terror attack sentenced to 5 years in jail

On April 3, 2017, a terror blast rocked a subway train travelling between the Tekhnologichesky Institut and Sennaya Ploshchad stations, killing 15 people and injuring 102

Fire fighters at the entrance to Sennaya Ploshchad station of the St Petersburg metro in the aftermath of explosion, April 3, 2017 Sergei Konkov/TASS

Fire fighters at the entrance to Sennaya Ploshchad station of the St Petersburg metro in the aftermath of explosion, April 3, 2017

© Sergei Konkov/TASS

ST. PETERSBURG, December 14. /TASS/. The court has found Obid Abdyraimov guilty of recruiting militants for the Islamic State, a terror organization that is outlawed in Russia, and compelling them into committing terror attacks. He was sentenced to five years of imprisonment in a corrective labor colony, TASS reports from the courtroom.

"To adjudge Obid Abdyraimov guilty and impose on him penalty in the form of five-year imprisonment in a corrective labor colony," judge Mikhail Kudashkin announced the verdict.

Abdyraimov gave a full confession in court. The court fast-tracked his case without examining the evidence. During the oral arguments, the prosecutor insisted upon six years in a corrective labor colony for the defendant, whereas the lawyer asked for three years in jail. Media reported earlier that Abdyraimov was involved in the St. Petersburg metro terror attack, but this fact was not mentioned in the indictment.

The St. Petersburg subway terror attack

On April 3, 2017, a terror blast rocked a subway train travelling between the Tekhnologichesky Institut and Sennaya Ploshchad stations, killing 15 people and injuring 102.

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Russia mourns victims of St. Petersburg metro blast

The terrorist who set off the bomb died. He was Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, a Russian citizen born in Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Investigative Committee reported. On the same day, an explosive device was found at another St. Petersburg subway station - Ploshchad Vosstaniya - and defused.

On April 3, the Prosecutor General’s Office recognized it a terror attack. During a few days, more than 10 people were arrested in St. Petersburg and in Moscow on suspicion of involvement in the tragedy. According to law enforcement authorities, they could be linked to the Islamic State, a terror organization that is outlawed in Russia. Later, one of the terror groups linked to the Al-Qaeda terror organization that is outlawed in Russia claimed responsibility for the attack.

The leaders of Azerbaijan, Belarus, the US, Japan, Turkey, France, Saudi Arabia and many other countries offered condolences due to the terror attack in St. Petersburg. Eleven people were arrested during the investigation into the criminal case on suspicion of involvement in the terror attack.

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