Three others -- another Peruvian, a Spaniard, and a Russian -- were wounded in the incident, in the southwestern city of Voronezh.
One of the suspects is charged with racially motivated murder, the others with robbery and hooliganism. State prosecutor Ivan Kovalev said investigators believe there is "substantial evidence this crime was committed out of ethnic and racial hatred."
The trial is being held behind closed doors as one of the suspects is a minor.
(ITAR-TASS, Interfax)
Epidemic Of Hate
Yusuf Sultonov, whose 9-year-old daughter was beaten and stabbed to death in St. Petersburg on February 9, 2004 (TASS)
EXTREMISM ASCENDANT: More than half of Russians have xenophobic views, according to a report published in August 2005. In the report, rights groups say that -- despite progress in some areas -- racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism remain rife in Russia. But what worries watchdogs most are recent moves by nationalist-patriotic movements to form paramilitary groups....(more)
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