MOSCOW, August 30 - RAPSI. On Thursday, the 94th Garrison Military Court sentenced special service Capt. Alexei Ustimchuk to 4.5 years in prison for kidnapping the son of businessman Eugene Kaspersky, the court spokesperson told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

Ustimchuk will serve his term in a high-security prison.

Ivan, the son of Kaspersky Lab CEO, was kidnapped on April 19 and freed on April 24 after a police special operation in a Moscow suburb resulting in the arrest of the kidnappers. They were demanding a 3 million euro ransom for the boy's return.

Ustimchuk was charged with kidnapping and extortion. The prosecution requested a five-year prison sentence for him. Ustimchuk's accomplices are being tried in a separate case.

According to Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin, the story that the kidnapping was arranged by Eugene Kaspersky's competitors was proved to be false.