Three members of the Iranian Embassy in Paris were sentenced today to six months imprisonment and a 5,000 Franc fine (approximately $850) for having daubed anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli slogans on public buildings in the Paris area.
The three, Mohamed Bouhadjeb, 23, Abderahim Buaicha, 32, and Michel Druart, 38, do not enjoy diplomatic immunity. Druart is a French citizen working as a clerk, the other two are considered “local staff.” The three will also have to pay 27,400 Francs (some $4,000) to the city administration for the damage they had caused to public property.
The Versailles court before which they appeared found them guilty of having daubed Magen Davids and swastikas and slogans such as “Israel is the cancer of the world” on a number of public buildings. The three said they had made the inscriptions shortly after the Sabra and Shatila massacre became known and that is was “their duty as practising Moslems to make the truth known to the world.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.