The Oslo District Court indicted eight Norwegian Tamils of Sri Lankan origin for vandalism on the Sri Lankan Embassy in Norway last year.

Prasanna Petkunam, Anthony Johananthan Theverajah, Krishnakumar Tharmalingam, Inbarajah Thavarasa, Sajeenthan Parvathythasan, Vidussan Suresh, Jeswanth Pushparajah and Gouwtham Karunakaran are those prosecuted.

On April 12 last year, demonstrators entered the Embassy premises at Nedre Vollgate in Oslo and threw stones at the main door of the embassy building. Several of the windows and the door were broken.

All those accused are teenagers or in their twenties. “They are young. Two of them were under eighteen years at Easter,” said District Attorney Marit Bakkevig and stated that the attack appears to be impulsive.

The prosecution said the demonstrators broke a hole in the front door of the Sri Lankan Embassy and went into the Embassy premises where damage was done by breaking a glass door to the inner premises, breaking the windows in the reception, and damaging a computer, various pictures and other objects belonging to the Embassy.

“Those who are prosecuted, we believe, had been inside the door at the Embassy and carried out damage to the premises,” said the public prosecutor.

One of the defendants was an asylum seeker when the attack occurred, said Bakkevig.

Seven were charged with both serious vandalism and violation of another state’s territory, while one was only charged with having violated another state’s territory.

The accused risk punishment with up to seven years in prison if found guilty.