Two German army officers were convicted to a 10-month suspended prison sentence by the First Instance Court of Chania after they took down the Greek flag from a pole in Crete and replaced it with a German one.

The unprecedented act occurred on Sunday, when the two 23-year-old German military officers, who are serving in the 115th Battalion Wing of NATO took down a Greek flag in the village of Stavros in the Akrotiri district near the city of Chania and threw it on the rocks before hoisting a German one in its place.

Their action was reported to the Greek authorities by stunned local residents who saw them taking down the flag.

After presenting their case before a local court in Chania, the two received a 10-month prison sentence with a three-year suspension as the prosecutor was not convinced by their claim of not wanting to desecrate the Greek flag.

According to local media, the two young officers told the Prosecutor they found themselves in the archaeological site of Stavros after a walk and got carried away and raised a German flag!

During their testimony, the two argued they did not intend to offend Greece or desecrate the symbol.

The German officers were both released after presenting their case to the court.