CHERKESSK. Oct 31 (Interfax) - A prosecutor in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia in Russia's North Caucasus has appealed to the panel of judges for criminal cases at the Russian Supreme Court, asking them to overturn the verdict issued by the republic's Supreme Court with respect to four suspected militants who were charged with grave crimes.
"The Karachay-Cherkessia Prosecutor's Office is set to seek full or partial reversal of the non-guilty verdict issued on October 18, 2011, by the Karachay-Cherkessia Supreme Court with respect to Umar Korkmazov, Aslan Aisandyrov, Elbus Botashev and Soltan Gappoyev," spokesman for the Karachay-Cherkessia Prosecutor's Office Ruslan Kabalov told Interfax on Friday.
State prosecutors believe that the court heard sufficient evidence proving the guilt of these people, he said.
It was reported that on October 10 the Karachay-Cherkessia Supreme Court issued a verdict against 29 defendants, whose charges included an attack on police officers, membership in an illegal armed group and an attempted overthrow of power, as well as other grave crimes.
Rustam Semyonov, Soltan Bogatyryov and Vyacheslav Kabardayev got maximum prison sentences - 14 years - for the total of their charges.
At the same time, two other defendants, Kozbayev and Korkmazov, were fully acquitted and released from the courtroom.
Moreover, three other defendants -Aisandyrov, Botashev and Gappoyev - were also released from the courtroom after the time spent by them in custody was counted towards their sentences.
Aisandyrov was sentenced to four years in prison, Dzhankezov and Gappoyev got two years each.
Yet another defendant, E. Turkmenov, who received a six-year suspended sentence, has also been released.
Three more defendants were sentenced to 13 years in prison, two others got 12 years each, nine - eleven years each, one nine years, three eight years each and one seven and a half years, and one seven years of imprisonment.
All the defendants have been cleared of the charge of being members of a criminal community.