MOSCOW, January 14 (RAPSI) –Russia’s Supreme Court dismissed on Wednesday an appeal filed by Russian nationals Vadim Gusev and Yevgeny Sidorov who were sentenced for recruiting mercenaries to fight in Syria.

In October 2014, the Moscow City Court sentenced Vadim Gusev and Yevgeny Sidorov, leaders of a Hong Kong registered private military contractor the Slavonic Corps, to three years in a minimum security prison for recruiting mercenaries.

“All the essential points mentioned in the appeals were taken into account during the trial, and the court is aware of the defendants’ services to the country and the fact that they have underage children. Furthermore, the defendants pleaded guilty and hence received reduced sentences. We therefore ask the court to uphold their sentences,” a representative of the prosecution said in a statement during the appeal hearing.

According to investigators, Gusev and Sidorov recruited about 250 men in Russia in 2013 and sent them to Syria without informing them where they were going. The mercenaries survived but have not received the payment promised to them.

This is the first trial held in Russia under the Criminal Code article on mercenaries.