The Moscow Region Court has sentenced two ethnic Chechens to two and six years in a penal colony on charges of recruiting would-be suicide bombers to carry out a terrorist attack in Moscow in 2009, a defense lawyer said on Monday.
The trial of the brother and sister, Apti and Aishat Magomadov, took place behind closed doors in order to prevent a possible leak of classified information related to the investigation.
According to the Kommersant newspaper, Apti Magomadov was involved in recruiting women to carry out suicide attacks after joining a militant gang led by Chechen warlord Doku Umarov in 2009.
Lawyer Musa Khadisov has maintained his clients are innocent of the charges. He could not say, however, whether he was going to appeal the verdict.
The case was opened on the two following the testimony of Lithuanian national Egle Kusaite, who was arrested earlier this year on charges of cooperating with the Magomadov siblings to become a suicide bomber. The woman later retracted her testimony, saying it was given under pressure, and was released.
The prosecutor initially called for more severe punishment. He sought nine years in a penal colony for Apti Magomadov and six years for his sister.
