A court in central Russia has ordered a local man to cover up during summertime in a bid to conceal his swastika tattoo from public view.
The man from the city of Galich in the Kostroma region got the "tattoo in the shape of a Nazi swastika" while serving time in one of the local prisons, the regional prosecutor's office said Wednesday in an online statement.
This summer, following his release from prison, he "carried out a public demonstration of [his tattoo] inside administrative buildings, on Galich streets, as well as on local public transportation," the statement added.
Exhibiting Nazi symbols in public is an offense under Russian law, punishable by sanctions that range from a fine to 15 days in prison.
The law also demands that the "object of the administrative offense" be confiscated — a requirement that was apparently difficult to enact in this case.
Instead, a Galich city court ruled that the man be "assigned the responsibility of wearing clothing during summertime that covers up the said tattoo," the prosecutors' statement said.
The court also fined the man 1,000 rubles ($22).
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