A 23-YEAR OLD NEO-NAZI HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS IN PRISON
FOR VANDALIZING AN ARMENIAN CHURCH

Yerevan, December 23. ArmInfo. A 23-year old neo-Nazi has been
sentenced to six months in prison for vandalizing an Armenian church,
according to a December 20, 2006 report in the local newspaper
"Gazeta Dona."

The defendant, identified in the report only by his last name
Mishchenko, has a long criminal record and admitted his membership
in a skinhead gang. The court found that on July 31, 2006 he entered
the Surb-Khach museum of Armenian culture, which includes an Armenian
Apostolic church, and set a fire. He also painted racist graffiti.

Within two weeks he was arrested and charged with vandalism. It
appears that no hate crime charges were brought against the defendant.