France Sentences Two 19-Year-Olds for Nazi Salutes Near Synagogue

Agence France-Presse reported today (Thursday) that two 19-year-old men were sentenced to prison after being convicted of glorifying terrorism. The two were filmed giving Nazi salutes near a synagogue in Sarcelles, a northern suburb of Paris.

The court ruled that one of them, a Russian citizen, would be imprisoned for eight months and permanently barred from France after his release. The second young man, a French citizen of Ukrainian descent, was sentenced to six months in prison.

The report said the incident took place last Sunday at around 11 p.m. A driver passing along the street noticed the two filming themselves giving Nazi salutes near the synagogue. They were standing beneath a memorial plaque honoring the victims of the 2012 attacks carried out by Mohammed Merah in Toulouse.

Police arrested the two shortly afterward, and they were taken into custody. According to prosecutors, security-camera footage and photos found on one of their cellphones served as evidence in the case.

Sarcelles has a large Jewish community. Last month, six men were reported arrested on suspicion of involvement in planning an attack on the Sarcelles synagogue. The attack was thwarted on July 11, after the anti-crime unit and France's domestic security service received an alert about the possibility of a terrorist attack. Following the information, about 300 people were evacuated from a neighborhood in Sarcelles, and initial reports raised concerns that the planned target was a synagogue.

During the operation, security forces located a suspicious vehicle containing a Kalashnikov assault rifle, several magazines, and a Beretta pistol that was also loaded with a magazine. Three weeks later, the suspects were arrested.