A Belgian Jew whose relatives were deported from Monaco in 1944 has filed a complaint against the principality, in the first case of its kind.

Jean Geismar, 75, from the Belgian town of Ottignies has been fighting for the past 10 years for Monaco to recognize its involvement in the deportation of Jews, and in particular that of his uncle and aunt. On Monday an official legal complaint was finally filed with the Monaco authorities.

Albert Samdam and Alice Goughengheim, Geismar’s relatives, left Belgium after the German invasion in 1941. Before they arrived in Monaco, they sold a building for the equivalent of 1.4 million euros (1.4 million Belgium francs at the time).

Find out more about the Monaco lawsuit at http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/france/5575.