"The Paris criminal court gave two-year sentences to Georgi Filipov and Kiril Milushev, described as the perpetrators, and four years and three years respectively to Nikolay Ivanov and Mircho Angelov, considered the operation's masterminds. Angelov is still at large. All four were also banned from entering French territory for life. The trial was the first of its kind in France, one of a series of similar crimes suspected of having been orchestrated by a foreign power with the aim to destabilise."
"The four defendants were not tried for acting on behalf of a foreign power: that aggravating circumstance was only added to France's criminal code after the incident took place. However, the judges said the fact that foreign interference occurred was indisputable, and it had been aimed to stir up public opinion, exploit existing divisions and further fragment French society. The vandalism was staged during heightened tensions in France over the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas that broke out in October 2023."
Four Bulgarian nationals received prison sentences and lifetime bans from France for painting red handprints on a Paris memorial honoring 3,900 people who protected Jews during the Nazi occupation. Two defendants received two-year terms; two others received four and three years respectively, and one alleged mastermind remains at large. Investigators identified suspects via security footage showing two placing stencils and tracking a departure route through Belgium to Bulgaria. Judges concluded foreign interference indisputably motivated the attack to stir public opinion and deepen social divisions amid heightened tensions over the October 2023 Israel–Hamas war. The aggravating charge of acting on behalf of a foreign power could not be applied because it was added after the incident. The defendants denied ideological motives.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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