VZCZCXRO3606
PP RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #3863 2191510
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071510Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2746
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHLN/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 4368
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 2322
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 2616

UNCLAS MOSCOW 003863 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM RS
SUBJECT: NEO-NAZIS SENTENCED IN ST PETERSBURG MURDER CASE 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On August 7, a St. Petersburg court 
sentenced seven defendants for their roles in the murder of 
anti-fascist activist Timur Kacharava and other crimes. 
Ringleader Andrey Shabalin was sentenced to 12 years in 
prison, three received two- and three-year sentences, and 
three were given suspended sentences.  Human Rights watchers 
see this a positive step in the prosecution of hate crimes, 
but say that the government needs to do more to prevent these 
crimes by attacking the root causes of nationalist hatred. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On August 7, a St. Petersburg court sentenced seven 
defendants for their role in the November 2005 murder of 
anti-fascist activist Timur Kacharava and attempted murder of 
activist Maksim Zgibay.  Consulate St. Petersburg reports 
that all seven were convicted of committing a hate crime in 
addition to convictions for murder and hooliganism.  The 
court sentenced ringleader Andrey Shabalin to 12 years in 
prison (the prosecutor had asked for 14 years).  One 
defendant received three years in prison, two received 
two-year sentences, and three received suspended sentences. 
The lighter sentences were given to the defendants who were 
minors at the time of the attack.  Prominent Human Rights 
attorney Yuriy Schmidt, a colleague of the victims' lawyer, 
told us that the sentences were expected.  He added that the 
sentences could have been longer if the investigators had 
done a better job preparing the case. According to news 
reports, the defendants intend to appeal their sentences to 
the Russian Supreme Court. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Human Rights activists noted that the sentences 
demonstrated that prosecutors and the courts were serious 
about prosecuting hate crimes.  Aleksandr Brod of the Moscow 
Bureau for Human Rights told us that the sentences were more 
severe than in similar past cases.  Memorial's Grigoriy 
Shvedov told us that "a 12-year sentence is a very concrete 
and practical message in the fight against extremism." 
Mikhail Chlenov of the Eurasian Jewish Congress told us that 
the convictions reflected a welcome and visible effort by the 
government to lower the level of xenophobia in Russia. 
 
¶4. (SBU) However, our Human Rights contacts added that the 
government needed to do more to attack the root causes of 
extremism than focus on convictions.  "More education is 
needed, especially for teenagers, to prevent these crimes 
from happening," said Chlenov.  Shvedov added that since the 
government will reach a limit in how severely it can sentence 
teenagers.  Shvedov added that without greater efforts on 
education and prevention, tougher sentences would only act to 
slow the extremist problem, not shrink it. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) We are encouraged that the court followed through on 
these charges with substantial sentences.  These convictions 
and a similar conviction in June for the murder of a 
Congolese student are signs that law enforcement is 
increasingly serious about prosecuting hate crimes. 
RUSSELL