The verdict has been handed down by three judges of the Volga District Military Court in the city of Penza, meduza.io reports.
When sentencing the defendants, the court took heed of the prosecution’s demands.
Dmitry Pchelintsev was sentenced to 18 years in a maximum security penal colony.
Ilya Shakursky got 16 years in prison and a fine of 50,000 rubles (about $780).
Andrey Chernov, Maxim Ivankin and Mikhail Kulkov were charged with participating in a terrorist association and attempted drug sales. They were given 14, 13, and 10 years in prison, respectively.
Vasily Kuksov was sentenced to 9 years in a minimum security penal colony, Arman Sagynbayev – to 6 years.
Russia’s investigating authorities opened a criminal case over allegedly establishing the Network terrorist group in 2017. As part of the investigation, the police detained eleven people, including leftist activists and anarchists. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the arrestees were nurturing the plans of committing terrorist attacks and toppling the authorities.
Although the defendants complained of being tortured by the FSB and said that arms had been planted on them, the Investigative Committee never gave credence to their claims.
