"Four Bulgarians went on trial in France Wednesday accused of desecrating a Jewish memorial with red handprints last year, which prosecutors think may have been foreign interference linked to Russia. The vandalism was staged during heightened tensions in France over the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas that broke out in October 2023. The trial is the first of its kind in France, one of a series of similar cases suspected of having been orchestrated by a foreign power"
"Three of the defendants stand accused of daubing 35 red hand marks in the night of May 13 to 14 last year on the memorial's Wall of the Righteous in Paris. The wall lists 3,900 people honoured for protecting Jews during the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. Several other red hands were found in nearby areas of central Paris."
""I had absolutely no idea where we were. Angelov was the one scouting locations, he'd tell me 'here' or 'there'," said defendant Georgi Filipov, who swore he didn't realise he was tagging the Wall of the Righteous. "If I'd had time to look around, maybe I would've made a different decision." He said he was paid €1,000 and that his recruitment was "not related" to his apparent neo-Nazi affiliations, including having a swastika tattoo and appearing in social media posts giving Nazi salutes."
Four Bulgarians went on trial in France accused of desecrating a Jewish memorial by painting 35 red handprints on the Wall of the Righteous in Paris during the night of May 13–14. The Wall commemorates 3,900 people honoured for protecting Jews during the Nazi occupation. Additional red handprints were found elsewhere in central Paris. Prosecutors suspect the vandalism may represent foreign interference linked to Russia and say the case is the first of a series of similar suspected operations. Two defendants were extradited and are in custody, one is tried in absentia, and a fourth is charged with complicity. One defendant said he was paid €1,000 and denied ideological motives.
Read at The Local France
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