30 March 2007, 22:36
Former Pyatigorsk imam convicted but will remain at large
The Pyatigorsk City Court has re-qualified the offences committed by Anton (Abdullah) Stepanenko, former imam of Pyatigorsk mosque, and Andrei Grudin, another convict in the case, from Article 163 of the Criminal Code (CC) of the Russian Federation (extortion) to Article 330 (arbitrariness), Mr. Astemir Podluzhny, press secretary of the Pyatigorsk City Court and assistant of the Court's Chair, has informed today the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot."
As a consequence, the Pyatigorsk City Court has sentenced today Mr. Anton (Abdullah) Stepanenko, former imam of Pyatigorsk mosque, to one year of imprisonment under Article 282 (kindling of religious enmity). However, A. Stepanenko will not serve this punishment because of expiry of the period of limitation. He has been also sentenced to conditional 1.5 years of custody with a trial period of one year. The verdict will be pending for 10 days provided for appeal at a higher court, Mr. A. Podluzhny has explained.
Author: Elena Kostenko, CK correspondent
