A French trial examines Holocaust Memorial graffiti believed linked to Russia

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PARIS (AP) — Three Bulgarian men are on trial in Paris this week for alleged involvement in spray-painting blood-red hands on the city's Holocaust Memorial, an act of vandalism that French intelligence services link to a campaign by Russia to destabilize France and other Western societies.

Some 500 red hands were painted last year on a wall honoring those who helped rescue Jews during World War II and around nearby Paris neighborhoods. The graffiti was initially viewed in the context of the war in Gaza, which has led to a rise in antisemitic incidents and tensions around Europe.

But French intelligence services say the red hands were part of a long-term strategy by Russia to use paid proxies to divide public opinion, stoke social tensions and spread false information, according to court documents. Governments across Europe have accused Russia in recent years of a campaign of sabotage that has included paying people to commit acts of vandalism, arson and bombing attempts.

Four Bulgarians are charged in the Holocaust Memorial case, but only three are in custody and were present for Wednesday’s trial. The alleged ringleader, Mircho Angelov, is at large.

The first to testify, Georgi Filipov, said he painted the red hands in exchange for 1,000 euros to help pay child support for his 9-year-old son. He said he was paid by Angelov and did not address accusations of Russian involvement.

“I acknowledge having participated in these acts. I formally apologize to the victims, and I apologize for the damage. I also apologize to the French authorities,” he told the court through translators.

Filipov said he was a former neo-Nazi and that he might have been recruited because his social media feeds showed him with neo-Nazi tattoos and a t-shirt praising Hitler. He described the tattoos as a “bad choice from my past” and claimed he only understood the antisemitic nature of the act upon his return to Bulgaria.

Kiril Milushev testified that he filmed the graffiti at Angelov’s instruction in exchange for 500 euros.

“I regret having participated in this act,” he told the court.

Investigators say Milushev was also suspected of defacing a gravestone in Munich, and of involvement in pasting stickers near hotels in the Swiss city of Zurich ahead of a Ukraine peace conference last year.

The third defendant, Nikolay Ivanov, was questioned about his role in four incidents of alleged Russian interference. He denied any pro-Russian connections or sentiments, and any responsibility for the red-hands graffiti.

Ivanov is accused of buying plane tickets for the other defendants from the Bulgarian capital Sofia to Brussels, and then Brussels-Paris bus tickets, and paying for their hotel in Paris. He said he bought the tickets and hotel stays at Angelov's request, and had only “rendered a service to a friend.''

The suspects face charges including criminal conspiracy or aggravated degradation of property based on race, ethnicity or religion. They could face several years in prison if convicted.

Plaintiffs include the Paris Holocaust Memorial and the League against Racism and Antisemitism.

The red hands graffiti was among several strange incidents over the past two years in France, and the first to come to trial. Among others:

In October 2023, soon after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, stencils of blue Stars of David appeared on Paris buildings. French authorities accused Russian security services of stirring up controversy around the stars. Two Moldovans were detained and deported in the case.

In June 2024, five coffins appeared at the foot of the Eiffel Tower with references to Ukraine ahead of a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Filipov, the defendant in the red hands case, said he was initially recruited to transport the coffins but testified that he backed out when he was told to put them beneath the famous Paris landmark. Three other men, born in Bulgaria, Germany and Ukraine, are suspected in the case, and a warrant has been issued for their arrest.

Unusual spray-painted images and messages with references to Ukraine appeared on the streets of Paris a few days later, as Zelenskyy met with then-U.S. President Joe Biden in the French capital. Three Moldovans are in custody pending further investigation.

And last month, severed pigs' heads were found near nine Paris-area mosques, five of which had Macron's name written on them. An investigation is under way.

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AP writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.