After a six and a half month trial on the murder of Chechen refugee Umar Israilov, the Vienna Criminal Court (Landesgericht für Strafsachen) in Austria returned three guilty verdicts.

The process started at 9:00am, with all three defendants Otto Kaltenbrunner (Ramzan Edilov), Turpal Ali Yesherkayev and Suleiman Dadayev ready in the Great Court Room.

The prosecutor, Leopold Bien presented his closing arguments and said that Umar Israilov had “dirty information” about Ramzan Kadyrov, therefore he must be killed. The prosecutor pointed out that the guilt of the defendants was clear and all of the evidence incriminated them. “You (the jurors) are the only hope for the father and widow of the victim that those people responsible will be held accountable for the death of Umar Israilov. I wish you the courage and strength to make the right decision,” said the prosecutor at the end of his speech.

Nadja Lorenz, lawyer for the Israilov family, explained once again about the phone records and contradictions.

The lawyers for the defendants, Rudolf Mayer (for Otto Kaltenbrunner), Michael Schnarch (for Suleiman Dadayev) and Peter Philipp (for Turpal Ali Yesherkayev) claimed that there was no evidence of a planned kidnapping and contract murder.

At 01:00pm, the hearing was adjourned and the jurors began to discuss the verdict in secret.

At 08:00pm, the defendants were brought into the court room and the decision was read to them. The three accused of involvement in the murder were convicted. As retribution, the court imposed life imprisonment for the first defendant, Otto Kaltenbrunner; 19 years in prison for the second defendant, Suleyman Dadayev; and 16 years for the third defendant, Turpal Ali Yesherkayev. The defendants were also ordered to pay damages to the victim’s relatives. Each of them (father, widow and four children) was awarded 25,000 euros. However, the decision is not final and it is expected that the defendants will appeal.

*Text was written by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco