Minister: No nazi symbolism found in Lihula replica monument design

No symbolism evoking nazism was found following expert analysis of a controversial replica monument, Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets (SDE) said Monday.
In response to a question from MP Rain Epler (EKRE), the minister told the Riigikogu that the Lihula monument has indeed been subject to analysis, which "did not identify anything, and if someone claims this stone as their own and approaches the police, then the police will act in accordance with the law on the matter."
As reported by ERR the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) had seized the monument, a copy of an original which was removed from the public space 20 years ago, on suspicion of its containing prohibited symbols, and had received two expert assessments in early October

These had come from the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory (Eesti mälu instituut) and from the University of Tartu's semiotics faculty.
The monument was confiscated at the start of September 1 while it was in transit to Lihula to be installed on private property, behind a gas station in Lihula.
The Lihula Monument is the colloquial name of an installation that commemorated those Estonians who fought for Estonia against the Soviet Union in World War II.
It still exists and is located at a privately owned museum in Lagedi.
The controversy surrounding it stems mainly from its dedication to those who fought for the nazi German forces, including both the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov