French prosecutors confirmed Wednesday the arrest of twin brothers in connection with the desecration of a memorial olive tree planted in honor of Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish man brutally tortured and murdered in 2006, AFP reported.
The tree, planted in 2011 in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine, was cut down earlier this month, sparking widespread outrage across France.
The suspects, whose names have not been released, are to face immediate trial under a fast-track procedure for the racially or religiously aggravated desecration of a monument, according to the public prosecutor’s office in Bobigny.
The office confirmed details first reported by French magazine Paris Match, which stated that the two men are of Tunisian nationality and lack permanent residence. Their identification reportedly came through DNA evidence.
The destruction of the memorial has drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the act and vowed that those responsible would be punished.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou condemned the “antisemitic hatred” behind the cutting down of the tree.
“No crime can eradicate memory. The never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty,” he wrote at the time.
In response to the vandalism, local officials have pledged to replant the olive tree “as soon as possible” to preserve Halimi’s memory and stand against hate.
Halimi, 23, was kidnapped in January 2006 by a gang of approximately 20 individuals and held in a low-income housing estate in Bagneux, a suburb of Paris. He was tortured over a period of three weeks and died en route to the hospital after being discovered.
The incident has reignited concerns over rising antisemitism in France, particularly amid heightened tensions following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military response in Gaza.
France’s Jewish community - one of the largest in the world - has reported a sharp increase in antisemitic acts, with figures from the interior ministry showing a rise from 436 incidents in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, and 1,570 last year.