On March 27, Moscow City Court found Alexander Koptsev, who was 20 at the time of the attack, guilty of the ethnically and religiously motivated attempted murder of nine people at a synagogue in central Moscow on January 11, but cleared him of instigating racial hatred.
"The sentence of the Moscow City Court is quashed, and the criminal case of Koptsev will be sent for retrial at the same court but with a different composition," the court ruling said.
The court ruled that Koptsev should be remanded in custody. Koptsev's lawyer Vladimir Kirsanov said he and his client would seek a jury retrial.
"However, I cannot guarantee that the case will be reconsidered by a jury," he said.
Koptsev's lawyers had asked the Supreme Court to reduce his sentence, while the Moscow Prosecutor's Office and lawyers for the injured parties had appealed the decision to clear him of instigating racial hatred.
The prosecutor said Koptsev had repeatedly said during the trial that he had meant to show an example to others and "teach a lesson to the Jews."
Vadim Klyuvgant, a lawyer for victims of the attack, criticized Moscow City Court's verdict because it had ruled out ethnic hatred in Russian society, which he said was not true.
"The number of extremist crimes is increasing day by day, along with the list of the victims of such crimes, which clearly indicates that the ruling was blatantly false," the lawyer said, adding that such "misleading" verdicts discredited the reputation of Russia's courts.
Klyuvgant also said that Koptsev had supporters and followers.
Koptsev's lawyers had requested that the court reduce the 13-year prison sentence, which they said was too tough as their client suffered from a serious psychological disorder and a severe eye complaint.
"Koptsev's eyesight is getting worse, and he will be absolutely blind by the time he leaves the colony in ten years," Kirsanov said in court.
Doctors diagnosed Koptsev as suffering from schizophrenia, but investigators said he was in his right mind when he committed the crime, and was not a member of any extremist group.
The court had ruled that Koptsev undergo psychiatric treatment while in prison.
Lawyers also said the verdict should be more lenient as Koptsev had admitted his guilt.
Moscow's Nagatinsky Court earlier sentenced Koptsev's father, also Alexander, to a 1.5-year suspended sentence for keeping ammunition in his apartment.
