Support The Moscow Times!

Domodedovo Terrorist Attack Plotters Sentenced

Emergency services attending to the injured at Domodedovo airport. Andrey Makhonin

A Moscow region court Monday handed down life sentences to three organizers of the 2011 Domodedovo Airport bombing that killed 37 people.

A fourth participant in the plot — the suicide bomber's younger brother, who testified in court that he knew nothing about the bombing — Akhmed Yevloyev, got a 10-year sentence, Interfax reported.

The court also ordered the men to pay 50,000 to 500,000 rubles ($1,500 to $15,252) to their victims. Thirty-seven were killed and more than 170 people were injured when Magomed Yevloyev blew himself up in Domodedovo's international arrivals hall on Jan. 24, 2011.

Akhmed Yevloyev and his accomplices Ilez and Islam Yandiyev and Bashir Khamkhoyev were arrested in December 2011. Yevloyev, who was 15 at the time of his arrest, was accused of helping to assemble the bomb.

The four have been on trial since August 2012, with some of the court sessions held behind closed doors.

Islamist insurgency leader Doku Umarov, who claimed responsibility for the attack, remains at large.

Investigators said the search continues for Umarov and Aslan Byutukayev, whose group is believed to have helped prepare the suicide bomber for the attack.

The defense insisted that the defendants' guilt had not been proved, and urged the court to refrain from ruling on the civil cases, asking that they be reviewed at a separate civil hearing.

The four men have 10 days to appeal the verdict.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more