All the members of the gang pleaded guilty, that is why there was no competition by the prosecution and the defense which normally tends to delay the proceedings, reminded Timur Khutov. The expert also emphasized that the convicted persons had actually served their sentence during the time preceding the trial.

“Naturally the mild nature of the verdict should be recognized, however, as evidenced by practice, if a case involves similar crimes and it is heard following special proceedings, no hash sentence should be anticipated”, Khutov concluded.