ROSTOV-ON-DON, June 14 (RIA Novosti) - A North Caucasus court martial found four Russian army officers guilty Thursday in a long-running case on the murder of six civilians in Chechnya, and sentenced them to prison terms of 9-14 years.
Captain Eduard Ulman and three other servicemen were charged with attacking a vehicle and killing its driver and five passengers during a reconnaissance raid in the troubled North Caucasus republic in January 2002.
Murat Musayev, a lawyer representing the victims, said: "The verdict is clearly a mild one, but our primary concern was that a guilty verdict would be handed down. We are satisfied with the ruling, and the number of years the defendants were given is not of great concern to me or my clients."
However, he expressed regret that the verdict could not be enforced immediately due to the absence of three defendants.
"We hope that law enforcers will do their jobs well, and that the defendants will found," Musayev said.
In April, prosecutors demanded that Ulman be sentenced to 23 years in prison and the other three offenders to 18-23 years.
On April 12-13 the lawyers were due to address the court, but three defendants, including Ulman, failed to appear in court. The lawyers and the only defendant present said they did not know their whereabouts.
Ulman received a 14-year sentence in absentia, and the other three officers were sentenced to 9-12 years in a high-security prison.
The latest reports said the defense lawyers could file a cassation appeal next Monday.
"We will appeal against the ruling, because we are confident that none of them are guilty, and should not be held responsible for crimes they have not committed," said Roman Krzhechkovsky, Ulman's defense lawyer.
The lawyer said the conviction was a serious legal violation, as the verdict was handed down without the presence of the defendants.
Three of the four defendants are wanted by the police, but it is known whether they are still alive, he said.
