By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
PRAGUE/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – A court in the Czech Republic’s capital sentenced a Colombian to eight years in prison on Monday for an arson attack and planning another one, amid concerns that Russia may be behind these and other attacks in Europe to sow division.
Prague’s Municipal Court also ordered Andrés Alfonso de la Hoz de la Cruz to pay damages worth 115,000 koruna ($5,300). Trial observers said the court approved a plea agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, who pleaded guilty.
The 26-year-old Colombian was detained a year ago after setting ablaze three Prague public buses at a depot at night, authorities said.
The court said that he had recorded what he had done and had left. Local workers reportedly managed to extinguish the fire.
The court agreed with the prosecution that the man “received orders” on the social media platform Telegram and was promised $3,000. He was also planning one more attack, possibly at a movie theater in Prague, according to investigators.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala previously said the failed arson attack was “likely part of Russia’s hybrid war” against his country.
He and others allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, “to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.”
Czechia, more widely known in English as the Czech Republic, is a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion launched on February 24, 2022.
Despite the ongoing war, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said ahead of the ruling that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be “warmly welcome” in Hungary.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to launch another night of heavy airstrikes against Iran and suggested Washington could eventually seize Kharg Island, Iran’s primary crude oil export terminal, in what would mark a major escalation in the widening conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is at war with Hezbollah, not with the people of Lebanon, accusing the Iranian-backed terror group of dragging Lebanon into repeated conflict while using its territory to attack Israel.
Belgium has rejected a U.S. request to impose an entry ban on travelers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, deepening a transatlantic dispute over how to respond to a potentially deadly Ebola outbreak ahead of the FIFA World Cup, the global football (soccer) tournament beginning Thursday in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, targeting air defense and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump increased military pressure on Tehran following days of escalating attacks and stalled nuclear negotiations.
Tehran warned Wednesday it would “reassess” its participation in peace talks with the United States after President Donald J. Trump said Iran would have to “pay the price” as the two nations traded fire overnight.
The killing of a 22-year-old Christian man in Pakistan’s Punjab province has sparked grief and renewed concerns about the safety of religious minorities, Christian leaders told Worthy News on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Wednesday that Israel’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon have reached the point of threatening Turkey itself, escalating a bitter war of words with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as tensions widen across the Middle East.