"Next time without cameras": The message that incriminated the suspect in the attack on an Israeli
A 25-year-old French national was arrested in Australia on suspicion of threatening an Israeli backpacker with a knife after discovering he had served in the IDF. The prosecution alleged an antisemitic motive, and the court remanded him in custody.
A 25-year-old French national was arrested in Australia on suspicion of threatening an Israeli backpacker with a knife at a hostel in the city of Cairns, Queensland, in an incident that local police attribute to a racist or antisemitic motive. The court rejected his request for bail and ordered him to remain in custody pending further proceedings.
According to the Australian network ABC and the local newspaper "Cairns Post", the suspect, Leo Raymond Cotten, has been in Australia on a working holiday visa since November 2025. The incident occurred on Thursday at the Mad Monkey hostel on Sheridan Street. It is alleged that Cotten hugged the Israeli against his will, and after another person intervened, he pulled out a knife approximately 20 centimeters long and threatened him.
During the court hearing, the prosecution argued that the suspect knew the complainant was Israeli and that he had previously served in the IDF. According to the police prosecutor, Sergeant Olivier Class, this was an assault that was "at the very least motivated by racism, antisemitism, if not religion." ABC reported that during the confrontation, Cotten was also attributed with making anti-Israel statements, including an accusation that the Israeli had "killed people in Gaza."
The prosecution also presented correspondence in a WhatsApp group of which the suspect was a member. It is alleged that Cotten wrote, referring to the Israeli:
"Next time I see him at the hostel, maybe we'll go to a place without cameras."
The police claimed that the suspect even kept photos of the complainant on his phone, and that there is a concern he might harm other people of Israeli origin or of the Jewish faith.
Cotten's defense attorney rejected the claim that this was a hate crime. According to him, the statements concerned the complainant's citizenship and nationality and not his religion, and the suspect did not actually attack him with the knife. Judge Thomas Brass rejected the bail request, partly due to the fear that the suspect would not appear for trial. The next hearing in his case is scheduled for September 11.
