Judge Natalya Samsonova said late on July 25 that the jury was not convinced the accused had carried out the murder or that the crime was motivated by ethnic hatred.
This week Russia's Interior Ministry announced that crimes against foreigners nationally have risen by 33 percent compared to the same period last year.
(AFP)
Epidemic Of Hate
Yusuf Sultonov, whose 9-year-old daughter was beaten and stabbed to death in St. Petersburg on February 9, 2004 (TASS)
EXTREMISM ASCENDANT: More than half of Russians have xenophobic views, according to a report published in August 2005. In the report, rights groups say that -- despite progress in some areas -- racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism remain rife in Russia. But what worries watchdogs most are recent moves by nationalist-patriotic movements to form paramilitary groups....(more)
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