30.11 Six Russians Convicted of New Year Bomb Plot on Red Square

MOSCOW, November 29 (RAPSI) – Six men have been convicted of plotting a New Year’s Eve terrorist attack on Moscow’s Red Square and sentenced in Russia’s republic of Dagestan, the regional prosecutor’s office said Friday.

According to the case materials, the six were members of a criminal group who had planned a bomb attack on Red Square on New Year’s Eve 2010 and an attack on the North Caucasus railway, as well as being involved in assaults on law enforcement officers.

The court sentenced the men to terms ranging from 13 years to 17 years in a maximum security prison.

Three other people were earlier sentenced to jail terms over the plot, in which investigators said a female would-be suicide bomber had checked into a hotel on December 28, 2010 together with another conspirator. A bomb was accidentally detonated in the hotel, killing the would-be bomber. The other terrorist quickly left Moscow, but was later detained, and became one of the three sentenced earlier.

Tens of thousands of Russians traditionally congregate on Red Square on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the arrival of the new year.