Moscow court sentences up to 20 years in prison for plot to assassinate RT editor-in-chief Simonyan

A Moscow military court has handed down sentences to 12 defendants convicted of involvement in the far-right organization “National Socialism/White Power” (NS/WP), the Russian Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported. The sentences range from six to 20 years in prison. Some of the defendants were minors.

Two of the defendants, Mikhail Balashov and Yegor Savelyev, were also charged with plotting to assassinate Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state propaganda outlet RT. Balashov received a 20-year sentence, while Savelyev was sentenced to 15 years. Both will serve the first four years in a prison facility and the remainder in a penal colony.

The other defendants, including minors, received sentences ranging from six to 18 years. As the verdict was read, the defendants shouted “Glory to Rus,” according to a correspondent for the outlet Vot Tak.

Ostorozhno Novosti reported that a confrontation broke out between relatives of the convicted and journalists after the verdict.

In July 2023, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced it had thwarted a plot to assassinate Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak (Sobchak’s name later disappeared from the case). Initially, the FSB said eight suspects were detained, later increasing to 12. According to the agency, the assassinations were ordered by Ukraine’s Security Service, with each defendant promised 1.5 million rubles per killing.

Mediazona reported that Mikhail Balashov and Yegor Savelyev were beaten after their detention. The outlet cited a witness who saw the defendants after arrest at a police station on Novokuznetskaya Street in Moscow. According to the witness, Balashov confessed because he was beaten so badly that he had no other choice. Savelyev, according to Mediazona’s source, was tortured with an electric shock device.