Court martial punishes soldiers for abusing kitten

A group of soldiers who violently threw a kitten into the street were sentenced 20 days by a court martial, with the Defence Ministry scrambling to come up with ways to prevent such brutal acts in the future.

The case was brought to the attention of officials following a complaint by the Cyprus Animal Party, accusing at least one young soldier of viciously grabbing a cat by its legs and throwing it over the fence and into the street with brutal force.

The Defence Ministry and the National Guard both looked into the incident, which resulted to the soldiers appearing before a court martial to receive a sentence of 20 days.

The sentence means that the soldiers most likely will have to serve an additional 20 days in the army, as it was not made clear whether anyone would be locked up in disciplinary barracks. Typically “prison sentences” in the army translate into soldiers simply lengthening their service by the number of days they accumulate as punishment.

The National Guard is planning to roll out a new campaign to educate soldiers on animal rights and well being, in order to prevent similar horrific acts in the future.

Knews understands that the defence ministry had seen a video of the soldier throwing the cat in the street from a height of about three metres.