MOSCOW, August 1 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) – The St. Petersburg City Court is set to examine a criminal case against a neo-Nazi gang standing charged with robbery, banditry, intended infliction of grievous bodily harm, murder on race, ethnical or religious hatred or enmity grounds, the court’s press-service informed RAPSI on Monday.

The 19 persons, 14 of whom were underage when allegedly committing the aforesaid crimes, are charged on 36 counts, among which alongside murders are six counts of grievous bodily harm, three counts of banditry, three counts of robbery, and setting fire to a church.

The materials of case under investigation for over two years make 91 volumes, according to the court’s press-service.

At present, all the accused remain in custody.

The gang’s leader, an ethnic Arab born in St. Petersburg, changed his name given at birth into a Russian one due to his racist and nationalist beliefs in 2002, and as investigators allege, in 2012 established a criminal gang ensnaring his acquaintances, including underage school and college students, who shared his beliefs, in order to commit crimes involving violence and violation of national and human dignity of people native to Caucasus and Asia.