A young Polish teen was convicted of publicly insulting the Chechen population and incitement to ethnic hatred.

In April 2010, two young Polish men were arrested in Łomża, Poland for distributing small leaflets written in Russian which said “We don’t want you here!” and “Get out of Our City!”, across the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria flag. Local police detained them and they plead guilty.

During the trial, Hubert C., a high school student in Łomża, admitted that the “stickers” were a mistake that he attributed to his youth and expressed his apologizes to Chechens. The young man was sentenced to five months imprisonment but his penalty was suspended for three years. However, as compensation for his actions, he will work for the Chechen refugees as a volunteer.

“I think everyone should get a second chance. His apologizes were accepted. Now we are waiting for this young man to visit us again. We want him to realize that multiculturalism is not a bad thing,” said Kamil Kamiński from Fundacji Ocalenie (Foundation Salvation) which helps Chechen asylum seekers in Łomża.

*Text was translated by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco