The trial against four Bulgarian men accused of spray-painting 500 red hands across Paris, including on the Shoah Memorial, in May 2024 began on Wednesday afternoon in Paris Criminal Court, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
During the night of May 13-14, 2024, the four suspects carried out more than 500 acts of vandalism using a stencil, including 35 on the Shoah Memorial.
The red hand symbol is often associated with the lynching of Israeli soldiers in Ramallah in 2000, after which the now-famous photo was taken of the perpetrator with blood-covered hands.
The trial is especially intriguing given the suspicion of Russian involvement. “The hypothesis is that this incident was an action to destabilize France orchestrated by the [Russian] intelligence service,” the investigation found.
Hotel and transportation reservations had been made for the Bulgarian men, and instructions in Russian were sent via Telegram.
This case is the first in a series of cases involving attempts to “sow trouble” and “create fractures” in the French population, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in September.
Details of the trial
Only three of the four defendants were present at the trial. The suspects had carried out the vandalism for profit, their The defense lawyers said, adding that their actions were not ideologically motivated.
There is an arrest warrant out for the fourth defendant, Mircho Angelov, who has not been extradited to France. According to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, the other three suspects referred to Angelov as their leader.
The suspects were identified through CCTV footage, their phone records, flight bookings, and a hotel.
“I had absolutely no idea where we were,” AFP quoted Georgi Filipov as testifying. “It was Angelov who scouted the place. He told me ‘here’ or ‘there.’
Filipov said he had not known the target was a Holocaust memorial, even though it was covered in Stars of David and lists of names. He said Aneglov had promised him €1,000, which he needed to pay child support for his son.
Filipov has a swastika tattoo on his chest, has posts on social media of him making a Nazi salute, and has worn a T-shirt with the image of Hitler with the words, “He was right.” Despite this, he told the court his “past choices” had “never targeted the Jewish people.”
According to VIGINUM, France’s service for vigilance and protection against foreign digital interference, “actors linked to Russia” were involved in the case.
The red hands were believed to be a Russian strategic attempt to stoke societal rifts, according to court documents.
“The shadow of Russia hangs over this courtroom,” defense lawyer Martin Vettes said at the start of the trial, adding that the defendants were “simple executors who were not even aware that they were acting indirectly for the interests” of Moscow.
The case joins several others believed to be connected to Russia, including the appearance of blue Stars of David on Paris buildings in October 2023 and the placing of five coffins at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in January 2024.
The case of the Bulgarian men is the first to come to trial. All four face seven years in prison and a fine of €75,000. The trial is expected to conclude this Friday.