Obama-Mask Robber Sentenced to 12 Years in Austria

An Austrian court Wednesday sentenced a German man who robbed several banks while wearing a mask of U.S. President Barack Obama to 12 years in prison.

The 45-year-old, who had already served a prison sentence in Germany for another series of bank robberies, was found guilty of holding up six banks and attempting a seventh in the northern province of Upper Austria between 2008 and 2011, the court in Ried im Innkreis ruled.

The suspect, who was arrested in March, pleaded guilty, claiming he desperately needed money, due to a long illness and unemployment.

He can still appeal his sentence.

The man was nicknamed the "Obama-robber" in the Austrian press as he favoured a mask of the U.S. president to conceal his identity during his robberies.

Barack Obama was not the only head of state to have the dubious privilege however: on one occasion, the robber opted for a mask of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.