STAVROPOL, August 15 - RAPSI. The Stavropol Territory Court fined a judge $7,850 for accepting a bribe, the press service of the prosecutor's office reported on Tuesday.

"A jury found magistrate Valery Zagitov guilty of bribe-taking. Zagitov was fined 250,000 rubles ($7,850) and was barred from holding any public official's position," the office said.

Additionally, the court fined an attorney, who was a mediator, 150,000 rubles ($4,710) but suspended the penalty due to the lawyer's having been granted amnesty.

The agency reported that on February 1, 2006, magistrate Zagitov received a bribe from an attorney to re-qualify a violation under an article that does not stipulate deprivation of a right to drive a vehicle. Therefore, an unlawful court ruling was passed in the case.

The office said the jurors found that the defendants deserved leniency.