The court said that on November 15, 2008, the four visited the grave of Dmitry Borovikov, the leader of the extremist group Mad Crowd. The four decided to honor Borovikov's memory by attacking passengers on a suburban tram who were not ethnically Slavic.
They shouted racial slurs and attacked four non-Slavs on the street car. Three people were severely injured and a fourth died several hours later.
One of those convicted was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in a labor camp while the other three received suspended sentences.
Lyubov Punkevich, a senior assistant attorney with the Northwest Transportation Department, told RFE/RL that often the victims of such attacks are illegal workers. Because they are not formally registered as residents they are afraid to go to the police.
"This happens a lot on city trams, but victims rarely go to the police for help, so it is rare that we can convict the guilty parties," Punkevich said.
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