© ITAR-TASS/Dmitriy RogulinSaid Amirov
"Amirov's guilt has been proved. On several counts, by applying cumulative punishment the court finally ruled to sentence Amirov to life imprisonment," the judge said.
The judge said Amirov will serve his sentence in a high-security penal colony. The other defendants were jailed to between 9 and 22 years, the judge said. Among them is Amirov's nephew Yusup Dzhaparov and also Magomed Akhmedov. The court ruled to increase the time they will spend in jail to 18 and 11 years, respectively.
Amirov, who had been the mayor of Dagestan's capital for 15 years, was arrested in June 2013 on suspicion of having organized a contract killing. In July 2014, the court sentenced him to 10 years behind bars for a plot to assassinate his political rival by shooting down the man's plane with a Strela 2M anti-aircraft missile.
According to investigators, the defendants were involved in organizing a terrorist attack, attempt at life of an acting head of a territorial investigative authority and also other severe crimes.
Comment: Yep, there are shady politicians in Russia too. But when was the last time an American politician, for example, was publicly exposed, arrested, and charged with crimes of a similar caliber? Not because they aren't just as bad - they are - but because American society is nourished by a steady stream of induced ignorance. Crimes are covered up. Favors are traded in. Blackmail keeps secrets secret and policies 'on track'. In other words, truth and justice are nowhere to be found. At least Russia takes some action against crooks like Amirov.