MOSCOW, April 24 (RAPSI, Alexei Afonsky) - The Moscow Region Court sentenced Robert Amerkhanov, convicted of masterminding a terrorist attack which was foiled in Moscow in May 2013, to 17 years in prison, RAPSI reported on Friday from the courtroom.

Earlier, Amerkhanov pleaded guilty to organizing the terrorist attack. However, he refused to admit that he was a member of criminal group and kept weapon. He said that the planned terrorist attacks were aimed at frightening law enforcement agencies and foes of Islam as well as forcing the state authorities to exclude Islamic republics from Russia.

Prosecutors have called for Amerkhanov be jailed for 19 years.

Amerkhanov’s accomplice, Yulai Davletbayev, has been already convicted of terrorism, illegal possession of weapon and sentenced to eight years in prison.

A terrorist attack was allegedly planned for May 9 Victory Day in Moscow by the Islamic Party of Turkestan, an al-Qaeda affiliated terror group. In May 2013, two terrorists said to be involved in organizing the attack were killed in Orekhovo-Zuyevo near Moscow. Another gang member, Amerkhanov, was detained.

According to the media, the flat where they lived was rented by Davletbayev from Sterlitamak, Bashkortostan. Davletbayev was detained near Moscow on June 6, 2013.

Davletbayev and Amerkhanov have been charged with banditism, terrorism and illegal keeping and manufacture of weapon.  Davletbayev has pleaded guilty.

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said earlier that the group escaped the law-enforcement agencies after committing a number of crimes in Russian republics in the Volga region. In 2010 they underwent military and ideological training at an international terrorist organization in an area on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Islamic Party of Turkestan, also called the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan or IMU, has been declared a terrorist organization by the Russian Supreme Court. Its operation is prohibited in many countries in Europe and Central Asia, as well as in the United States. FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov believes that it is no less dangerous than al-Qaeda.

In March 2013, the Russian Interior Ministry announced the detainment of the leader of the IMU's Moscow branch. He was to be extradited to Uzbekistan.