A Moscow court on Monday sentenced four men to between 13 and 19 years in jail for the murder of a Russian regional governor nine years ago.
Russia's Far East governor of Magadan, Valentin Tsvetkov, 54, was shot dead in front of his wife as he left his offices in Moscow in October 2002. Then president Vladimir Putin described the murder as a "crime against the state."
The sentences by the Moscow City Court ranged from 13.5 years for Masis Akhunts, 17 years for Alexander Zakharov, and 19 years for Martin Babakesyan and Artur Anisimov.
Babakesyan was extradited from Spain in January 2008 for organizing the killing and Zakharov, who carried out the murder, was extradited from Spain in March 2007.
The main channels of inquiry in the investigation focused on Magadan's gold mining industry, which the late governor had made moves to streamline, and also the allocation of fishing quotas, and the use of federal funds allocated to supply the region with fuel and other energy resources for the winter.
MOSCOW, February 21 (RIA Novosti)
