Thirteen suspected neo-Nazis charged with killing 27 people in ethnic-motivated crimes will face trial in Moscow on July 22, a spokesman for Moscow region's military court said on Monday.
"The court has granted a motion to hold the trial behind closed doors but rejected a request for the case to be heard by a jury," Alexander Minchanovsky said.
Investigators believe the defendants are members of the National-Socialist Society, established in 2004 with the aim of turning Russia into a Nazi state. The group had several regional branches, as well as international offices in Belarus, Britain, Canada and France. Russia's Supreme Court banned the National-Socialist Society in February as an "extremist" grouping.
The thirteen, believed by investigators to be members of one gang, operated mainly in the Moscow region and attacked dark-skinned people, including nationals of African and Asian countries, the government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported.
The paper said one of the men stabbed an anti-Nazi activist 30 times as part of an initiation test.
If the gang members are found guilty of committing even some of the murders, they could face life sentences under Russian law.
Attacks on dark-skinned people from ex-Soviet republics, Asia and Africa have been on the rise in Russia in recent years. The Russian authorities have described the growth of ethnic-motivated attacks as a "national threat" and urged tough measures to combat them.
Several members of skinhead and neo-Nazi groups have already been sentenced to long prison terms.
rian.ru
