ROSTOV-ON-DON, July 9 (RAPSI) - On Wednesday, the North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced ousted Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov to ten years and his nephew, Yusup Dzhaparov, to eight and a half years in a high-security prison, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the courtroom.

Investigators claim that Amirov and his nephew plotted the murder of Sagid Murtazaliyev, Director of the Dagestan Department of the Pension Fund and a prominent wrestler. According to the alleged plan, Murtazaliyev’s plane was to be shot down by a missile.

The prosecution claimed that Amirov was trying to expand his influence in the republic but had several political opponents including Murtazaliyev.

They said the murder would have increased Amirov’s political influence and destabilize the region. Dzhaparov was also involved in the plot, the prosecutor maintained.

During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the evidence against the defendants was clear and argued that Amirov be sentenced to 13 years and Dzhaparov to 11 years in a high-security prison. The defense, on the other hand, insisted that the charges were absurd and demanded that the defendants be found not guilty. The defendants themselves vehemently denied all charges.

In June of last year, Amirov, a mayor in Dagestan since 1988, was arrested in Makhachkala. Apart from the terrorist charges, he was charged with the murder of Investigative Committee officer Arsen Gadzhibekov.

As previously reported by Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the Investigative Committee, Arsen Gadzhibekov had been investigating the alleged official misconduct of members of the Makhachkala city administration headed by Amirov.