Vandals Spraypaint Charles Bridge

(Update: photos of two vandals released) Police are searching for an unknown vandal who tagged the Prague landmark yesterday

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 26.02.2016 15:41:26 (updated on 26.02.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

Update: Prague police have released photos and video of the suspected vandals, identified as two French-speaking tourists. See bottom of article for more.

A graffiti “artist” took his craft to Prague’s Charles Bridge yesterday, leaving the city’s landmark with not just a tag but a mostly-illegible diatribe that stretches for about 15 meters down the Bridge’s side wall towards the Old Town end.

“We are searching for the offender,” police spokesperson Iveta Martínková told iDnes this morning. “The preliminary damage amount has not yet been determined but we have begun criminal proceedings for the suspected crime of property damage.”

Because Charles Bridge is a national monument, the offender faces a higher penalty that could result in a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

The vandal appears to be a tourist or English-speaking foreigner.

Most of the graffiti is illegible, but part of it seems to read “swop #BeBop 21\-16 Charles Bridge”. The primary tag appears to be a name, either “Batista” or “Datista”.

The vandalism occured yesterday at around three in the morning.

If you have any information regarding the identity of the vandal, please contact Prague police. 

Update (26.02.16): Prague police have released photos and video of the two vandals, who are being identified as French-speaking tourists.

Hotel staff in particular are being asked to keep an eye out for the individuals seen in the photograph below and report any sighting to local authorities. 

More information can be found here

Photo: Policie.cz
Photo: Policie.cz

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