MOSCOW. Dec 20 (Interfax) - The Second Western District Military Court has sentenced Emom Burkhonov to 22 years in a high-security penitentiary for trying to detail a Sapsan train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 2017, an Interfax correspondent has reported from the 235th Garrison Military Court.
"The court has sentenced Burkhonov to 22 years in a high-security penitentiary," Judge Kiforenko said during the visiting hearing.
Burkhonov was found guilty of illegal possession of weapons in the course of his alignment with an organized criminal group, organization of and participation in a terrorist cell, and conspiracy to carry out an explosion.
He pleaded guilty as charged and he was the only man responsible.
"I made a mistake. I was just watching YouTube videos of killings of women and children and wanted to stop them, but I made a mistake," Burkhonov said in his last statement.
On July 12, the Moscow District Military Court sentenced seven members of the ISIL terrorist group (banned in Russia) from Tajikistan, who were preparing to cause the destruction of a Sapsan train in 2017. They were given 15 to 21 years in prison.
The defendants - Mukhamedi Boboyerov, Dzhumakhon Baimonov, Farkhod Nadzhbudinov, Sukhrapdzhon Nozimov, Fakhradzhon Nozimov, Abdulgafor Raupov, and Amradzhon Raupov - were found guilty of several crimes, including plotting a terror attack and alignment with a terrorist cell.
According to the bill of indictment, "seven natives of Tajikistan created a cell of the ISIL terrorist organization (banned in Russia) in St. Petersburg in the period from May 31 until July 9, 2017, for the purpose of derailing a Sapsan high-speed train."
On July 13, 2017, Moscow-St. Petersburg Train No. 758 hit a metal object placed on the rail by the defendants. It was not derailed, but five train cars were damaged.
According to the investigators, Russian Railways incurred damage of over 55 million rubles.
Five defendants pleaded not guilty, one pleaded guilty to some charges, and one pleaded guilty as charged.