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Five prisoners in Russia sentenced to long terms for plotting terrorist attacks

The defendants in the case were found guilty under five sections of the Russian Criminal Code

MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. The Second Western District Military Court has sentenced five prisoners to prison terms ranging from 8.5 to 24 years for recruiting their cellmates and plotting terrorist attacks as well as attempted murders of cadets of the Air Force Academy whose graduates are taking part in hostilities in Syria, the Public Relations Center of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) informed TASS on Monday.

"The FSB foiled the activities of a terrorist community formed in the correctional facility No.3 of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service in the Voronezh Region by Ruslan Bugakov born in 1974, Ruslan Chausov born in 1977, Genyas Gatjibaibov born in 1971, Maxim Stepanov born in 1989 and Sergei Mukhamatzyanov born in 1988 who were earlier convicted of grave offences," it noted.

Bugakov was sentenced to 24 years in a special regime penal colony with serving the first 5 years in a prison, Chausov - to 18 years in a special regime colony with the first 3 years in prison, Gatjibaibov - to 17 years in a special regime colony with first three years in prison, Stepanov - to 16 years in a special regime colony with serving the first 2 years in prison, and Mukhametzyanov - to 8 years and 6 months in a special regime colony with serving the first 2 years in prison.

"During the investigation, the involvement of community members in dragging prisoners released in 2019 and 2020 into terrorist activities was proved as well as in preparing a number of terrorist attacks, including the blowing up of an apartment building in Voronezh and attempted murders of law enforcement offices and cadets of the Air Force Academy named after Zhukovsky and Gagarin whose graduates take part in hostilities in Syria," the FSB said.

The verdict was handed down on November 13. The defendants in the case were found guilty under five sections of the Russian Criminal Code, specifically, attempted terrorist attacks, organization of a terrorist community and participation in it, facilitating terrorist activities, public calls for terrorist activities, justification of terrorist propaganda and public calls for extremist activities.