Kurapaty vandals face three years in jail

The Baraulyany District Police Department has opened a criminal case against two young men held in Kurapaty in the evening of November 1. They were detained as suspects for damaging the memorial crosses on the site of mass executions by Stalin's secret police in 1930s. The case is formally registered under a Criminal Code article that deals with the protection of historical and cultural values. Under the law, vandals could be convicted to three years in prison, reports Belapan.

The two men were detained by opposition activists who saw them breaking the memorial crosses.

This is the first detention of vandals in Kurapaty, although similar crimes routinely took place previously.