ST. PETERSBURG, December 16 (RIA Novosti)-A local man in the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk has been sentenced to 25 years in prison causing an explosion in an apartment building that left 58 people dead in a revenge attack against the gas company that had just fired him.
Sergei Alekseichik was convicted by a majority 7-5 jury decision of taking a valve off the main gas supply system into the block on the night of March 16, 2004. A blast later destroyed much of the building when the gas ignited.
Lawyers for Alekseichik, who has consistently denied his guilt, intend to appeal the ruling, while local prosecutors have said that today's sentence was too lenient. Alekseichik's last words to the court were: "We'll sort this out in an international court." It is presumed he was referring to the European Court of Human Rights.
