Legal proceedings on his case were finished on Friday in Kirovsky district court of Novosibirsk. Novosyolov, the head of the Novosibirsk regional bureau of forensic medicine, was found guilty of abusing his position, in accordance with article 285 of the Russian Penal Code.
"Novosyolov misused his authority and violated burial and funeral laws, which guarantee the right for the dead to be buried and for their relatives to perform funeral rites," judge Yelena Prokopova said, while pronouncing the verdict.
In 2001 Novosyolov was charged with the illegal sale of 51 corpses to German scientist Gunther von Hagens, head of the German Institute of Plastination in Heidelberg. The scientist is also known as controversial artist, who arranges shocking performances involving specially treated dead bodies.
Charges against 14 top managers and medical personnel of different medical institutions of the region were dropped before the trial began. Novosyolov was the only one to go on trial as the organizer of the sale.
It was the third time that the court considered the case. During the previous proceedings, in November 2003 and July 2004, Novosyolov was acquitted of all charges. However, the prosecutor's office filed cassational appeals and the case was returned to be reviewed.
Several dwellers of the region cannot get the bodies of their relatives back for burial.
Novosyolov's lawyer Mikhail Kurilov stated that the court's ruling would be appealed against.
