MOSCOW, September 14 - RAPSI. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence of nationalists Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis, who were accused of murdering a human rights lawyer and a journalist, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) reported from the court on Wednesday.

Lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova were shot dead in Moscow on January 19, 2009. Investigators said Tikhonov and Khasis murdered Markelov for his participation in an anti-fascist movement and for defending individuals with anti-fascist views. They said Tikhonov shot Baburova because she was a witness to Markelov's murder.

Based on the jury's verdict, the Moscow City Court sentenced Tikhonov to life imprisonment for shooting the lawyer and the journalist and Khasis to 18 years behind bars for helping Tikhonov.