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ASTANA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Seven terrorists were sentenced to life imprisonment in Kazakhstan on Monday.
The specialized inter-district criminal court of Aktobe region of Kazakhstan convicted 29 men in a high-profile terrorism trial.
Seven terrorists of them were sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorist attacks that occurred in June in the northwestern Kazakh city of Aktobe.
Zhanabai Kuanyshbayev, Bakyt Kuanyshbayev, Alibek Akpanbetov, Arsen Tanatarov, Askhat Rakhmetov, Anuar Sadikhov, and Askhat Imangaliyev were found guilty of terrorism and convicted to serve a life sentence. All their property is to be confiscated following the verdict.
Another two accused were sentenced to 20 years and 22 years in prison respectively in a strict regime colony. Eighteen people charged with abetting the attackers received jail terms between two to five years. The other two defendants were convicted of harboring criminals and sentenced to four years each.
Investigators have said all 29 criminals were Islamic extremists and followers of the Salafist current. On June 5, a group of armed men attacked two gun shops and a military unit in Aktobe killing 3 civilians and 3 soldiers.
The city declared a counter-terrorism operation regime. During the manhunt for the suspects, policemen killed 18 attackers, while some remained at large. The operation ended on June 12 as all the suspected Islamists were caught.
The city government changed the "red" level of terrorist threat in Aktobe city to an elevated "yellow" one, which is in effect throughout Kazakhstan until January 15, 2017. Enditem
