MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Appeals against the verdict in the Private Andrei Sychyov hazing case will be sent to the Urals military district court martial within a month, a court official said Tuesday.
Private Sychyov was severely beaten by fellow servicemen in a Chelyabinsk military academy earlier this year and had to have his legs and genitals amputated as a result.
A court martial in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk ruled on September 26 that the main defendant in the case, Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov, should serve four years in a low-security penal colony. His co-defendants, Pavel Kuzmenko and Gennady Bilimovich, received suspended sentences of one year and six months, respectively.
"Both the defense for Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov and lawyers representing Sychyov appealed the verdict passed on September 26 of this year," the official said.
The defense insists the verdict be annulled and Sivykov released from custody, although Sychyov's lawyers claim the punishment is too lenient, the source said.
"In accordance with trial procedures, both appeals will be sent to a district court martial within a month," the court official said.
