A court in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on Thursday handed down a ten-year prison sentence to a teenager who stabbed to death a man dressed as Father Frost, Russia's equivalent of Santa Claus, in an attack motivated by religious hatred, a court spokesman said.
In January, Parviz Davlatbekov, 24, was attacked as he visited relatives dressed as Father Frost, who by tradition brings Russian children presents at New Year. Russian cultural influence remains strong in Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic.
Behruz Shrifov, 17, was found guilty of committing the killing. Two of his accomplices were found guilty of hooliganism and received four-year sentences. Another person who took part in the attack on "Father Frost" was fined.
