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 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A revised draft of a UN Security Council resolution outlining the “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” is set to be circulated by the United States for review among Security Council members, according to an exclusive report by The Jerusalem Post.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has declined to immediately pursue membership in the Abraham Accords, citing Israel’s control of the Golan Heights as a primary obstacle, though he suggested the Trump administration could eventually facilitate such negotiations.
French authorities have opened a formal judicial inquiry after chaos erupted during a concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Paris, where protesters lit flares and shouted anti-Israel slogans before being subdued by audience members.
Russia’s Republic of Dagestan has become the focus of an embarrassing aviation scandal after a helicopter carrying senior defense-industry officials broke apart in mid-air and crashed — an event caught on video and widely shared online, prompting authorities to launch a criminal investigation.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) faced an unprecedented crisis Monday after its director-general and head of news resigned amid accusations of political bias at what was once regarded as the flagship of both Britain and journalism worldwide.
President Donald Trump secured a significant diplomatic breakthrough Monday as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement bringing Syria into the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, making the war-torn nation the 90th member of the U.S.-led counterterrorism alliance.
In a disappointing setback for religious freedom advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court declined without comment to hear former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis’s appeal, leaving in place a $360,000 judgment against her for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The justices let stand lower court rulings that found she violated couples’ constitutional rights under the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, despite what her legal team characterizes as a conflict with her First Amendment religious liberty rights.