A Moscow court on Thursday sentenced a group of young men to lengthy prison terms after convicting them of committing a series of racist murders.
The Moscow City Court sentenced nine men aged 17 to 22 to prison terms ranging from six to 23 years after convicting them of committing six murders, all motivated by ethnic hatred, over the past two years, RIA-Novosti reported.
A jury earlier acquitted the nine defendants of committing five other murders and one attempted murder, and cleared three additional defendants of all counts, Interfax reported.
Five suspects in the case were never found by investigators.
According to investigators, the young men formed a skinhead gang called Beliye Volki, or "White Wolves," on Hitler's birthday in April 2008. The gang's leader, Alexei Dzhavakhishvili, 18, is the son of a Georgian citizen but considers himself a Russian, Interfax said.
Lawyers for the defendants will appeal their sentences, Interfax reported.
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