Court passes sentence over desecration of graves at a Jewish cemetery
The Malynivsky District Court in Odessa has convicted three men of desecrating graves at a Jewish cemetery, at the Memorial to the Victims of Nazism, as well as to vandalising a memorial plaque on the home of Leon Pinsker.
Two were sentenced to two years imprisonment, while the third received the same period, but with a one year deferment. According to the press secretary of the Odessa Regional Prosecutors Office, if the latter does not commit any further crimes under Article 297 of the Criminal Code (Desecration of graves), he will not face imprisonment.
The court also ordered the men to pay a fine of 15 thousand 169 UAH, this covering the cost of the expert study in the case.
During several nights in February the men daubed swastikas and offensive words on the gravestones in the Odessa Jewish Cemetery, the Memorial to the Victims of Nazism, as well as on the memorial plaque marking the home of the doctor, publicist and civic figure Leon Pinsker.
In March the Head of the Odessa Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the attacks had not been ordered but had been instigated by a 20-year-old naval student who had read a lot of Nazi material and his friends.