French man allegedly pulls knife on Israeli tourist in Australia, denied bail by Cairns court
The suspect's lawyer noted that his client is not suspected of actually having "struck" the Israeli man, "or anything more sinister than that."
A French man, Leo Raymund Cotene, was arrested in Australia for allegedly assaulting an Israeli tourist with a knife, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The incident occurred at the Sheridan Street Mad Monkey Backpackers hostel in Cairns on Thursday, around 5 p.m. Cotene, who has lived in Australia since November 2023, has no prior criminal record but was denied bail by the Cairns Magistrates Court on Friday due to the risk of further offending and endangering other members of the public.
The prosecution cited the deliberate nature of Cotene's actions, which included verbal anti-Israel remarks such as "You kill people in Gaza," "I'm not staying in a hotel with an Israeli," and "F*** Israel." Cotene's lawyer, Rowan King, stated that his client did not physically strike the victim but instead hugged him twice. King emphasized that there was more to the story, including preexisting animosity between the victim and other hostel guests, as well as a group chat where Cotene allegedly made further hostile comments about the victim, specifically referencing his IDF uniform.
The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) President, Robert Gregory, warned that Jewish and Israeli visitors to the country should exercise caution, noting that antisemitism in Australia has significantly worsened in recent times.
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