MOSCOW, November 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a life sentence for a former lawmaker in the northern Russian city of St. Petersburg convicted of contract murders, a RIA Novosti correspondent said Tuesday.
The court thereby rejected an appeal against the St. Petersburg City Court's November 15 decision in the case of Yury Shutov, 60, previously a member of the city's legislative assembly, and four accomplices for their role in a criminal gang that ordered and carried out several high-profile contract killings.
Defense attorneys said following the trial that they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, while a lawyer representing the interests of one of the gang's victims said he was satisfied with the Supreme Court ruling.
The remaining members of the 12-man gang were convicted of kidnapping, robbery, illegal weapon possession and other crimes. The St. Petersburg City Court handed down sentences from seven to 18 years in prison.
