Court orders expulsion of foreigner for vandalism of statue on Charles Bridge

A Czech court has ordered the expulsion of a foreign national who wrote in Arabic at the beginning of the month on a statue of St. Francis on Charles Bridge, a national heritage site. There is a three-year-ban on the foreigner’s return; doing so during that time period would constitute a criminal offence.

For the act, the foreigner, who also received a fine of 15,000 crowns, could have faced up to three years behind bars.

Because he was detained at the scene, the case was handled quickly by the state prosecutors’ office. The defendant did not appeal the ruling which is now binding. According to reports, the words in Arabic were a translation of words on the landmark.