Russian Ultranationalist Leader Found Guilty In High-Profile Killings

Russian ultranationalist leader Ilya Goryachev has been found guilty of organizing high-profile killings.

On July 14, a jury at the Moscow City Court found Goryachev, 33, guilty of ordering the murders of judge Eduard Chuvashov in 2010, human-rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova in 2009, two Russian antifascist activists, a Tajik national, and a citizen of Azerbaijan.

Goryachev, the leader of the ultranationalist group Russian Image and an ideologue of the nationalist group BORN, was also found guilty of the organization of an extremist group, establishing an illegal criminal group, and illegal-weapons distribution.

Goryachev, who went on trial last month, pleaded not guilty. He was extradited from Serbia in 2013 at Russia's request.

In April, the Moscow Oblast Court sentenced two BORN members to life in prison and one to 24 years in jail after convicting them of murder.

Two other BORN members -- Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis -- were sentenced in 2011 to life and 18 years, respectively, for their involvement in the killing of Markelov and Baburova.

Based on reporting by rapsinews.ru and TASS