MOSCOW, November 16 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) – The Moscow City Court will consider on December 1 an appeal against the prison sentence handed down to two executives and a member of the Sheremetyevo Trade Union of Flight Personnel for attempting to defraud state-controlled airline Aeroflot out of 100 million rubles ($1.5 million), the court’s press service told RAPSI on Wednesday.

Alexei Shlyapnikov, executive director of the trade union, received 78 months in prison. Valery Pimoshenko, vice-president of the trade union, got 72 months, and Sergei Knyshov, member of the trade union, was sentenced to 66 months in prison. The defendants were released because they had served these terms in detention during investigation and trial.

According to prosecution, that Shlyapnikov and Pimoshenko demanded payment from Aeroflot’s flight director for helping the airline end a strike of pilots who requested higher wages, and threatened to send compromising information about Aeroflot to the media if he refused to pay.

As the Interior Ministry reported earlier, the two trade union leaders were arrested when receiving 10 million rubles ($152,500). Later, the third suspect, Knyshov was arrested on suspicion of implication in the crime.

All defendants pleaded not guilty. Their defense lawyers insisted that the men had been prosecuted unlawfully and charges against them had been brought following their long-standing conflict with Aeroflot.