Suspected of preparing a destabilizing action during the Olympic Games in Paris, a Russian indicted and placed in detention

A Russian man arrested and indicted three days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. XinHua – LiMing

A Russian, born in 1984, suspected "of organizing events likely to lead to destabilization during the Olympic Games" a was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention on Tuesday July 23, indicated the Paris prosecutor's office, confirming information from Parisien.

A judicial investigation for "intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France", a crime incurring 30 years of criminal imprisonment, was opened on Tuesday, said the prosecution.

The investigations were launched following a home visit “carried out at the request of the Ministry of the Interior to a man born in May 1984 in Russia", reported the prosecution. "The elements discovered during this, raising fears of his intention to organize events likely to lead to destabilization during the Olympic Games, led to the opening of a criminal procedure", he added.

No details were communicated on the nature of his project which was not terrorist, the procedure not having been entrusted to the national anti-terrorism prosecution.

800 people removed for suspicion of interference

As part of the Olympic Games (July 26 & August 11) and Paralympic Games (August 28 & September 8), more A million administrative investigations were carried out and 4,360 people likely to present a threat to the event were excluded, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Tuesday. in an interview with Paris Match.

In total, 880 people were excluded from participating in the sporting event for suspicion of foreign interference, announced Sunday to the National Security Council. AFP the entourage of the Minister of the Interior. Several cases, some of which have received strong media coverage in France in recent months, have fueled suspicions of foreign interference linked to the war led by Russia in Ukraine and the war between Hamas and Israel.< /p>

Red hands, stars of David and coffins at the Eiffel Tower

On June 1, three coffins bearing the inscription "French soldiers of Ukraine" had been placed at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Three men, one of Bulgarian nationality, the other two born in Germany and Ukraine, were arrested before being released.

On the night of May 13 to 14, red hands were sprayed on the Holocaust memorial in Paris and the police suspect three people having fled abroad. In October, after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Stars of David were sprayed on several facades of buildings in the Paris region. The facts, for which a Moldovan couple was arrested, were attributed by the French authorities to the Russian security services (FSB).