Donetsk, Jun 29 - DAN. The Donetsk People’s Republic Supreme Court Appeals Chamber handed down the verdicts to three members of a criminal group involved in the assassination attempt on the life of a Donetsk Republic social movement activist, the DPR Supreme Court press service reported on Tuesday.
“The investigator said that a Moscow-based Ukrainian national hired L., a suspect in the criminal case and his wife to assassinate a statesman and community activist who was a member of the Donetsk Republic social movement’s political council,” the press service said adding that preliminary investigation was conducted by the DPR State Security Ministry.
The group found out the target’s daily routine and travel routes to identify the locations for planting explosive devices. Two more people were hired to help carry out the assassination. One had to plant a homemade bomb and set if off while the other had to monitor the target.
Suspect L. made two bombs. One was planted in a billboard near a shopping mall in central Donetsk. However, it didn’t explode due to technical fault. The second bomb was planted in the bushes by the road which the statesman and activist in question regularly used,” the report said. The group was detained before the bomb could be set off.
The Supreme Court said that citizen L. had been sentenced to 19 years and three months in a maximum security prison and fined 300,000 rubles. One of his two accomplices was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security prison and 1.5-year personal restraint; the other to 13 years and three months in a general regime penitentiary and one-year restraint. No more details were provided.*jk