A portrait of murdered teacher Samuel Paty at the school where he taught. Image by REUTERS
The trial of six French adolescents in relation to the murder of Samuel Paty.
Six teenagers are on trial in Paris about their suspected involvement in the death of Samuel Paty, a teacher.
The kids are charged with defamation and identifying Mr. Paty’s killer—a Chechen refugee—at the school.
When they were killed in 2020, they were between the ages of 13 and 15, and the trial took place behind closed doors.
The accused, who might spend up to 2.5 years in jail, are said to have concealed their identities when they showed up at the juvenile court on Monday, according to local media.
On October 16, 2020, Mr. Paty was allegedly shown cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad by pupils during a lesson on freedom of speech, which led to his stabbing and decapitation.
Thirteen years old was the youngest suspect at the time of the murder.
Nine days prior to Mr. Paty’s death, she had been suspended from school for unrelated reasons.
According to the AFP news agency, she showed up at the court with her head entirely concealed behind the hood of a black down jacket.
It is stated that she falsely informed her father that she had received punishment for confronting Mr. Paty on a purported request from Muslim students to leave the classroom.
It was true that she had missed the relevant class. Still, her father made social media videos demanding that Mr. Paty be dismissed.
The videos, according to the prosecution, are what drove Chechen Abdoullakh Anzorov to travel about 80 km (50 miles) from Normandy to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, which is close to Paris, where he carried out the murder.
At the scene, Anzorov, who was eighteen at the time, was shot and killed by police.
In return for a payment of €300 (£260), the other five suspects in the case are said to have assisted Anzorov in identifying Mr. Paty at the school.
One claimed that Anzorov informed him that he intended to record Mr. Paty expressing regret for displaying mocking images of the Prophet Muhammad.
Next year, a second trial for eight adults who are also charged with involvement in the murder will begin. Among them is the father of the 13-year-old defendant, Brahim Chnina.
Anzorov’s two companions are being charged with the most serious offence in the case—”complicity in a terrorist murder”—by the prosecution.
On the day of the murder, one guy is suspected of driving Anzorov to the school where Mr. Paty taught, and the other of going with him to purchase firearms.