Auschwitz sign thieves get jail sentences from Polish court

A Polish court has convicted on Thursday three men charged with stealing the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign from the entrance to the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz at the end of last year.

The Krakow court sent the three men to terms ranging from 18 to 30-months in jail, a BBC report said, adding that the men had admitted to the act, thus bypassing the need for a trial.

Two other Polish nationals remain in custody over the theft of the infamous sign.

The disappearance of the "Work sets you free" sign, an enduring symbol of the Holocaust, caused international outrage, especially in Israel and among Jewish groups.

A replica now sits on top of the entrance, while the original is being repaired.Its theft caused outrage in Israel, Poland and around the world.

Up to 1.5 million people, mostly Jews, died at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during Nazi Germany's wartime occupation of Poland. The site became a museum after the war.

The man who Poland sees as the architect of the act, Swedish national Anders Hogstrom, 34, was seized in Sweden in February on a European arrest warrant issued by Poland.

Last week, a Swedish court ordered that Hogstrom would extradited to Poland

Defence lawyer Bjorn Sandin told Reuters that Hogstrom would likely appeal the ruling. If his appeal is rejected, the Swede will be handed over to Polish authorities in the coming days.