A tourist living in the UK has come under heavy criticism after carving his name and that of his girlfriend on a wall in the Colosseum. According to the Italian police, he regrets his act.
“He kept apologizing.” A week after the birth of a scandal concerning a video showing a tourist engraving his name and that of his girlfriend on a wall of the Colosseum in Rome, the Mail Online media was able to exchange with the spokesman of the Italian carabinieri, the police soldier, who says he came into contact with the suspect when he left Italy.
“Colleagues spoke with the individual and he expressed his sincere apologies and remorse for what he did. (…) He told us that he was very affected,” said Major Roberto Martino.
Located in Bulgaria
When he was filmed carving an ancient wall, Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old Bulgarian sports coach living in Bristol, UK, was visiting Rome with his girlfriend, Hayley Bracey, as part of a a three-week trip to Europe.
The video of the degradation, published on Youtube, has more than 250,000 views. We see the Bulgarian mark “Ivan + Hayley 23” on a stone with a key, be challenged by the man who films the video, who asks him “if he is serious” and only responds with a big smile. The tourist leaves and we hear an insult.
Ivan Dimitrov “contacted us after we retrieved his mobile phone from the hotel archives and left a message for him to call us. He was legitimately concerned about the legal implications, which were explained to him”, detailed Roberto Martina at Mail Online.
A possible trial next year
The tourist, who was identified on Thursday by the carabinieri before being located in Bulgaria on Friday, faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros after a complaint was filed against him by the authority of the Colosseum archaeological park. According to law enforcement, he was told a report would be sent to his home in the UK and that the case “would go to trial, likely early next year”.
“We did not ask him why he did it, it will be up to the judge to listen to him. We simply told him that he was a suspect and that he was part of the investigation”, explains Roberto Martina.
The policeman explains that Hayley Bracey, filmed alongside Ivan Dimitrov, “is not the subject of any complaint and is therefore innocent (…) even if, technically, she could be considered an accomplice” if the prosecutor so decide. He explains that the investigation “shouldn’t take too long” because the main evidence is the video posted on YouTube.
Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano had denounced at first an act “extremely serious, unworthy and of great incivility”. He had “thanked” the carabinieri on Thursday for having identified the man and said in a press release “hope that justice will take its course by rigorously applying the law”. He also announced that in the event of a trial, his ministry would be a civil party.
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, Ivan Dimitrov’s act led to the filing of the fourth complaint of the year for damage to the Colosseum by the park authority.
Source: BFM TV
