MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. The defendants in the criminal case concerning the attempted murder of journalist Margarita Simonyan have confessed to plotting the crime in exchange for $50,000, according to the Investigative Committee's press service.

"Balashov, acting under the instructions of unidentified individuals, collaborated with another member of the cell, Yegor Savelyev, in planning the assassination of journalist Margarita Simonyan for a monetary reward of $50,000. The accomplices gathered intelligence on her whereabouts and movements. After receiving firearms and ammunition from unknown sources, they intended to carry out the murder," the statement revealed.

The plotters were apprehended by FSB officers.

According to an earlier report, the Second Western District Military Court has handed down sentences ranging from six to twenty-five years in prison to those accused in the criminal case linked to the attempted assassination of RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan.

Mikhail Balashov, a mechanic working at a car repair shop, received the heaviest sentence: four years of imprisonment, with the remainder served in a maximum-security penal colony. He was also fined 800,000 rubles and subjected to a two-year restriction of freedom. Yegor Savelyev, previously convicted of attempted murder, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 800,000 rubles (roughly $10,400).

The case involved twelve defendants. During closing arguments, the prosecution sought sentences of up to 25 years in prison for the accused.