MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. Moscow Regional Court has convicted five members of the so-called GTA gang on charges of a series of murders of drivers on roads in Moscow and the Moscow and Kaluga Regions in 2012-2014, TASS reported from the courtroom, where the announcement of the verdict started on Wednesday.

The court started off the announcement with the recognition of the proof of the criminal charges pressed against the defendants. "Having studied the materials of the criminal case against the defendants, the court has found that they had created a stable and tightly-knit armed gang. All the perpetrators had passed special training for cynical armed assaults on citizens. They realized that that they were members of a gang with a strict hierarchy," the judge noted.

Most of the convicts had shaved their heads completely bald on the day of the verdict announcement. Security measures were tightened in the court due to the last year’s events, when several defendants tried to escape, engaging in a shootout in Moscow District Court. The announcement of the full text of the verdict, including the statement of reasons, may take about one week. The punishment for the defendants will be announced in the final part of the ruling.

Khazratkhon Dodokhonov, Sherdzhon Kodirov, Anvar Ulugmuradov, Umar Khasanov and Zafardzhon Gulyamov are charged with the killing of 17 people and two attempted murders, as well as banditry, robbery, the illegal production and storage of arms and the theft of documents. The perpetrators confessed to participation in the crimes during the court hearings, but pled not guilty in the killings.

During the oral argument the prosecutors asked the court to sentence Dodokhonov, Kodirov, Ulugmuradov and Khasanov to life in prison, and Gulyamov, to 25 years in a colony. The defendants and their lawyers asked the court to ease the punishment regarding the mitigating circumstances.