A Moldovan couple arrested in Paris for allegedly scrawling Stars of David on a school building allegedly told investigators they were acting on the orders of “an individual in Russia.”
The 33-year-old man and 29-year-old woman were arrested last Friday after a witness reported seeing the couple tagging “a blue star” on a wall in a bohemian enclave of the French capital, according to prosecutors.
Interrogated by police, the two “declared that they had committed this crime on the orders of a third party,” namely “an individual from Russia,” French broadcaster Europe1 reported, citing an anonymous source.
No additional information was immediately available about the identity of the alleged Russian mastermind.
The Moldovan citizens were placed in an administrative detention center under a preliminary charge of harm aggravated by the fact that it was committed because of their origin or religion.
The couple, who have been living illegally in France, will likely face deportation to their home country if found guilty.
The couple’s arrests come after some 60 blue Davis Stars were drawn on several buildings in the 14th and 15th arrondissements of Paris. The city prosecutor said that “the perpetrators of the multiple tags observed on Tuesday had not yet been identified.”
Dozens of blue Stars of David have been scrawled on buildings in Paris.REUTERS The labels were observed in the 10th, 14th and 15th arrondissements of the French capital. AFP via Getty Images Local and national have condemned the “despicable” acts of vandalism directed at the French capital. Jewish population. Urman Lionel/ABACA/Shutterstock
A criminal investigation has been launched into the graffiti, which Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called “despicable.”
“Anti-Semitic labels discovered in Paris,” Hidalgo posted on social media this week. “Given these despicable acts, we contacted the Public Ministry to identify, prosecute and sentence the perpetrators. “Anti-Semitism has no place in our Republic.”
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne echoed the mayor’s words in a speech to the National Assembly, saying she condemned “these despicable acts with absolute firmness.”
The prosecution, however, has stopped short of labeling the graffiti as anti-Semitic, saying in a statement that it has not yet been determined whether the vandalism was “for the purpose of insulting the Jewish people or claiming their membership,” citing the fact that The stars had been spray painted blue instead of yellow, the color of the Jewish star that the Nazis forced European Jews to wear during World War II.
857 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported in France since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. AP
Paris prosecutors were also investigating a chilling video that surfaced on social media on Wednesday, showing a group of young people on the city’s metro chanting: “Fuck the Jews and fuck your mother, long live Palestine. We are Nazis and we are proud of it.”
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 857 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported in France resulting in 425 arrests, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn