Libyan court annuls verdict on 2 Russians

The verdict on Russian citizens Shadrov and Dolgov, handed down by Libya's high military tribunal, has been annulled, head of the consulate department of the Russian Embassy in Libya Denis Knyshev told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. "Today, the High Military Tribunal of Libya passed a ruling on the appeal, according to which the Russians' case was handed over for review by a civil court. The previous verdict has been annulled," Knyshev said. The country's prosecutor general's office will decide if it should change the charges brought by military prosecutors. "The status of the Russian citizens has changed from convicts to detainees," the Russian diplomat said. In June 2012, the Supreme Military Court of Libya found a group of Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian citizens guilty of aiding the Gaddafi regime and of attempting murder though repairing military hardware used by the governmental troops against the opposition. Russian citizen Alexander Shadrov, who was recognized as the organizer of the group, was sentenced to life in prison. Another Russian citizen, Vladimir Dolgov, and three Belarusians were sentenced to ten years of correctional labor. Nineteen Ukrainian citizens were sentenced to ten years behind bars each. All of them plead not guilty, saying they were working in Libya under oil-sector contracts.