Five members of a neo-Nazi gang in Barnaul, Russia (Altay Kray)
received long prison sentences after a court found them guilty of ten
attacks, including two murders, according to a June 23, 2009 report
posted on the Russian language web site of Radio Liberty. The "Wolves
of Odin" gang was found guilty of forming an extremist group,
recruiting under-aged youths into a criminal group, and murder
motivated by ethnic hatred. Two of their victims, an ethnic Azeri and
a resident of the neighboring Altay Republic, died at the hands of the
gang, which was also held responsible for eight other attacks on
citizens of China, Tajikistan, and ethnic minorities from other parts
of Russia. The gang's leader, Aleksey Kelber, got a 23 year sentence,
while other members of the gang were sentenced to between nine and 19
years in prison. Their trial was held in closed session.
