Three Russians jailed for 4 years for fatal arson

MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) A court on Russia's Pacific island of Sakhalin sentenced three people to four years in jail for setting fire to the home of an anti-smuggling coastguard chief who died in the attack, Russian media said today.

General Vitaly Gamov died of his burns after his house was firebombed in 2002, in what was widely regarded as retribution for his attempts to clamp down on seafood smuggling on Sakhalin.

Russian television showed one of three men in a cage reserved for defendants in major trials.

Gamov's widow, who suffered severe burns, said she would appeal against the ruling to have the attackers tried for murder. Those who ordered the killing have not been found, media said.

''These boys, who were so savagely cruel to my family, got four years for 'mischief'. I hope justice will still prevail,'' Larisa Gamova told First Channel television.

Contract killings are common in Russia and often remain unsolved.

REUTERS MS PM1719