Seven Tajiks Get Up To 21 Years In Jail For Trying To Derail High-Speed Train In Russia

A Moscow military court sentenced on Friday seven Tajik supporters of the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia) to sentences of between 15 and 21 years in prison for attempting to organize a train wreck in 2017 in retaliation for Russia's military campaign in Syria, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the court room

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2019) A Moscow military court sentenced on Friday seven Tajik supporters of the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia) to sentences of between 15 and 21 years in prison for attempting to organize a train wreck in 2017 in retaliation for Russia's military campaign in Syria, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the court room.

One of the seven convicted pleaded guilty to all charges, another only partially admitted his guilt and the other five maintained their innocence.

In July 2017, the seven individuals fixed a special device, which is used to stop trains and prevent them from moving on their own, on a railroad in St.

Petersburg. The culprits hoped that a Sapsan high-speed train, which runs between St. Petersburg and Moscow at an average speed of 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour, would violently bump into the device, derail and collide with another Sapsan train rushing along the adjacent track.

However, the train did not derail after running into the reportedly poorly fixed device and no passengers were injured.

Five train cars were damaged as a result of the group's actions, and the damage was assessed at over 55 million rubles (over $870,000).