More than 100 graves were found to have been damaged last week in a major act of vandalism at Kihelkonna cemetery on the island of Saaremaa.

Two young boys admitted to committing the vandalism. According to updated information, they were aged seven and 10.

Police confirmed the children's parents are willing to compensate for the damage.

District Prosecutor Rainer Amur said on Monday he approved the decision to terminate the police's proceedings.

"The reason is that the investigation established that the act was committed by two minors – boys under the age of 14. As the age of criminal responsibility under the law is 14, the criminal proceedings were therefore terminated and they cannot be held liable because they have not yet reached the age of criminal responsibility," he said.

Amur added that both boys confessed.

"One boy's parent called the police and reported it, while the other boy called 112 himself and reported what he had done," he said, adding that the boys were unable to explain why they had caused the damage.

"More than 100 gravestones were knocked over at the cemetery, some of which were also damaged, and they have indeed shown a willingness to cooperate and a desire to restore peace in the community. Both the children and their parents have felt bad about what happened. At the moment, we can see that there is also a willingness to compensate for the damage. But of course, if the parties cannot reach an agreement between themselves, the civil courts can help in such cases. It is then possible to seek compensation for the damage through the civil courts," said Minna Raun, head of the community policing group at Kuressaare Police Station.

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