Overview
- Three defendants appeared in a Paris court after extradition from Croatia and Bulgaria, while alleged organizer Mircho Angelov remains at large and is being tried in absentia.
- Georgi Filipov admitted painting the red hands for about €1,000 and apologized, Kiril Milushev said he filmed the act for €500, and Nikolay Ivanov acknowledged paying for travel and lodging but denied any role.
- Police documents presented in court said the suspects received directions in Russian via Telegram, and intelligence in the case file attributes the operation to the FSB’s Fifth Service.
- Testimony and prosecutorial briefs detailed trips to Germany and Switzerland after the Paris action, raising questions about a tagged Munich grave and planned sticker activity ahead of a Ukraine summit in Zurich.
- The case is being pursued under charges including aggravated degradation of protected property with a discriminatory motive, and authorities frame it as part of a broader probe into foreign-backed provocations such as Eiffel Tower coffins and pigs’ heads at mosques.