Russian court jails nine over racist killing

[pampango]

Source: BBC

Nine members of a Russian white supremacist group have been jailed for up to 22 years each in connection with the killing of a man from Cameroon. Three of the group, known as Simbirsk White Power, were convicted of the racially motivated murder of Etizok Ndobe Ernest in the city of Ulyanovsk.

Correspondents say the latest case comes as Russian authorities appear to be making a concerted effort to combat hate crime. Last month a court in Moscow sentenced nine members of a neo-Nazi skinhead gang to prison terms of up to 23 years.

Independent groups monitoring the issue say the number of those killed in race attacks last year dropped by more than a quarter to just over 70 - a figure they say is still unacceptably high.

Hate crimes increased sharply in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Skinhead groups began targeting people of foreign appearance such as Central Asians, residents of the Caucasus or Africans.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8563503.stm