Russian man convicted of sending dismembered dead bodies to Germany

The chief of the forensic expertise bureau in Russia's Novosibirsk (Siberia), Vladimir Novoselov, was fined 35,000 rubles (about $1,500) in the case of illegal import of dead bodies to Germany. The court found Novoselov guilty of using his position in conducting criminal activities, RIA Novosti reports.

”Novoselov used his powers contrary to the interests of the service that he chaired. The citizen violated the federal law about burial and funeral business. The law stipulates that every human being needs to be buried according to their will, or the will of their relatives,” judge Elena Prokopova said.

Vladimir Novoselov does not plead guilty. His lawyer, Mikhail Kurilov, said that he was going to appeal the sentence. According to the lawyer, the court wrongly estimated several papers, which documented Mr. Novoselov's directions.

Vladimir Novoselov was put on trial in 2001. The man was charged within the scope of the case connected with illegal shipment of 51 human corpses to controversial German artist Guenther von Hagens. The artist is known in the West for his shocking anatomic shows, at which he displays dismembered human bodies.

The case originally involved 14 managers and employees of various medical institutions of the Novosibirsk region. The criminal prosecution against those people was subsequently stopped, and it was only Vladimir Novoselov, the chairman of the regional forensic bureau, who was put on trial. Investigators concluded that the doctor organized the collection of dead bodies for the German artist.

The court heard the scandalous case for the third time. Judges acquitted Novoselov in November of 2003 and in July of 2004. However, prosecutors nullified the sentences in courts of higher instances twice.