Two physicists at France‘s main state research agency were sentenced Thursday to eight months in prison for throwing bottles containing liquid nitrogen at the Russian consulate in Marseille in protest at Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Georges Sitja, 59, and Vasile Heresanu, 48, are however expected to serve their sentences by wearing electronic tags.
“My wife had told me it was a very bad idea,” said Sitja, who is married to a Ukrainian-born woman.
“I persisted because I thought long and hard about the procedure to make it safe,” he added.
Moscow insists that its diplomatic mission in the southern city of Marseille was targeted by a “terrorist” attack when three plastic bottles were lobbed towards the consulate premises on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.
The two Frenchmen, who are employed by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), have admitted to throwing the three bottles at the consulate. The men were quickly identified and detained at a pro-Ukraine rally.
Read moreTwo French researchers admit carrying out attack on Russian consulate in Marseille
Sitja and Heresanu were sentenced to eight months in prison, but are expected to go home soon and wear electronic bracelets.
They have been banned from approaching the Russian consulate and carrying weapons for the next five years. The men will spend the night in jail pending their expected sentence adjustment.
‘Honest people’
The two physicists said they had taken some liquid nitrogen from their lab and transported the substance in two thermos flasks in order to pour it later into bottles.
Two of the bottles had fallen on the roof of the consulate’s parking lot.
There were detonations, leading French police to report that improvised explosive devices had been used. No one was injured and no damage was reported.
The courtroom was packed, with the Russian consul general in Marseille and a representative of the CNRS attending the hearing.
“The acts committed are serious and present all the signs of a terrorist act,” said the Russian consul, Stanislav Oranskiy.
The French prosecutor took a different view.
“The terrorist aspect is a bit like the bottle, it goes pschitt,” said Olivier Redon.
“We see the behaviour of honest people,” he said, adding that the researchers’ act was “not dangerous”.
Redon added that diplomatic compounds should not be targeted. “It is a taboo, it’s not done,” he said. He had requested a year’s imprisonment to be served under an electronic tag.
The presiding judge, Thierry Bonifay, also lectured the scientists.
“Embassies and consulates are sacred territories that must not be touched,” he said.
‘Wrong direction’
Sitja called himself an “idealist.”
The bespectacled man added that he wanted to “draw attention to the state of the world” but admitted that he did not think about the consequences.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, his father-in-law has been staying with the couple, sleeping on their sofa.
“Things are going in the wrong direction,” added Heresanu, 48, a Frenchman of Romanian origin with black wavy hair.
He pointed to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as well as elections in the United States that returned Donald Trump to power.
He said that he only wanted to “make some noise,” but now felt “completely overwhelmed” and regretted his actions.
Rami Chahine, a lawyer who represents the scientists, said the men were not criminals but “very, very anxious people” who, like many now, “see things that worry them all over the world”.
The CNRS, which has described the scientists’ act as an “attack”, accused the men of having “misused” a scientific product.
Russia’s Investigative Committee launched an investigation into “attacks on persons or institutions benefiting from international protection”, which is punishable in Russia by up to 20 years in prison.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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