The families of the victims told Reporters Without Borders they were satisfied with the verdicts. Baburova’s mother, Larissa, said she was convinced of the defendants’ guilt. Markelov’s brother, Mikhail, said “the trial was conducted in an open and honest manner.”

The fact that the jury found the couple guilty of Markelov’s murder by 8 votes to 4, and Tikhonov guilty of Baburova’s murder by 7 votes to 5, “shows there was a serious discussion and that the decision was not taken unanimously, far from it,” Mikhail Markelov said. Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov said he trusted the jury and thought the evidence produced by the prosecution was “convincing.”

The evidence against Tikhonov and Khasis consisted above all of the statements of witnesses near the scene of the murder, surveillance video camera recordings and the murder weapon, which was found at their home along with many other firearms. Other ultra-nationalist activists also testified against the couple. Khasis’ alibi was contradicted by his mobile phone’s geolocation record.

The jurors accepted the prosecution’s claim that the couple’s motive was to avenge Markelov’s support for anti-fascist activists and, in particular, the fact that it was at Markelov’s initiative that Tikhonov had been wanted for his presumed role in the 2006 murder of the anti-fascist activist Aleksandr Ryukhin.

This allegedly forced Tikhonov to go underground, falsify identity documents and get involved in arms trafficking (two other charges on which he was convicted). In an initial confession, Tikhonov had nonetheless said he shot Markelov because he had “defended Chechen women suicide bombers and got the Russian army officer Yuri Budanov convicted.”

Several aspects of the case have yet to be clarified, above all the fact that the jurors found that Tikhonov had been helped by Khasis “and other unidentified persons.” The existence of other accomplices was mentioned several times by the prosecution. Who were they and what was their degree of involvement? And, in particular, what role did other members of the “Russky Obraz” ultra-nationalist group play?

The case is not over. The court will issues its sentences on 5 May and the defence has already announced its intention to appeal against the conviction. If the case goes to appeal, Reporters Without Borders hopes the hearings will shed light on the aspects that have not been clarified.

This case is a test. The Russian authorities have clearly realized this. We hope this verdict marks the end of the double-game the government has been playing with ultra-nationalist groups and the start of a determined fight against impunity in Russia. A lot remains to be done. The murderers of Anna Politkovskaya, Natalia Estemirova and dozens of other journalists are still at large.

Several of the original jurors resigned during the trial. One of them, Anna Dobrashyova,told Moskovsky Komsomolets that the jury had been under pressure to find Tikhonov and Khasis guilty. She said one of the jurors had been deliberately “brain-washing” his colleagues. The judicial authorities did not respond to her comments.