A Rumanian court has sentenced four persons to long prison terms for burning down a synagogue in the Moldavian town of Bohush on October 30, the Chief Rabbi of Rumania, Moses Rosen, told leaders of the World Jewish Congress, The synagogue was burned to the ground after its janitor was stabbed.
Rosen said here last Thursday that the court in the town of Bacau found the four guilty and sentenced them as follows: Gheorghe Podoleanu, seven years imprisonment, Florin Sandru and Vasile Popa Moganu, each five years in prison; and Mihai Vatav, four years in a reform school.
The four, ranging in age from 17 to 28, were arrested on November 9 and charged with arson and stabbing They claimed they had come to rob the synagogue and asserted that the fire broke out accidently from two candles they had left burning.
“The apprehension of the criminals and their sentencing demonstrates once again that religious denominations in Rumania are protected by law and that no one can attack the Jews and go unpunished.” Rosen said.
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