Russia (illustrative)
Russia (illustrative)Israel news photo: Flash 90

  

A district court judge from Russia's Udmurtia republic was dismissed from his post this week for posting an anti-Semitic remark on Facebook two years ago. 

At the time, Ivan Orsinin uploaded a picture of a burning mosque to his Facebook page with the following caption: You can look endlessly at three things: flowing water, sparkling stars and a burning mosque."

In a comment below the picture, the judge added "and the Jews burning," an anti-Semitic statement that also has clear Holocaust overtones.

Investigators from Russia's General Security Service began looking into Orsinin after he published the incendiary post. 

After the judge learned of the investigation against him, he expressed regret for his actions. A criminal case, however, was opened against Orsinin on charges of hate speech, incitement and expressing hostility to others. 

Prosecutors ultimately decided not to indict Orsinin because of his apology, he was still forced to step down as a judge for Udmurtia's district court. 

Orsinin filed an appeal but a committee established by Russia's Supreme Court ruled that regardless of the results of the investigation, he could no longer serve as a judge because his actions damaged both his reputation as well as the prestige and authority of the judiciary.