France is holding a trial over the beheading of a teacher who showed prophet cartoons to his class

[Pelican Press 0]

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France is holding a trial over the beheading of a teacher who showed prophet cartoons to his class

LYON, France (AP) — Eight people are going on trial in Paris on terrorism charges Monday over the

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, who was ******* by an Islamic extremist after showing caricatures of Islam’s prophet to his middle school students for a lesson on freedom of expression.

Paty’s shocking ****** left an imprint on France, and several schools are now named after him. Paty was ******* outside his school near Paris on Oct. 16, 2020, by an

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, who was shot to ****** by police.

Those on trial include friends of assailant Abdoullakh Anzorov who allegedly helped purchase weapons for the *******, as well as people who are accused of spreading false information online about the teacher and his class.

The ******* occurred against a backdrop of

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and calls online for ********* targeting France and the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The newspaper had republished its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad a few weeks before Paty’s ****** to mark the opening of the trial over

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by Islamic extremists.

The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious. But the fallout from Paty’s ******** reinforced the French state’s commitment to freedom of expression and its firm attachment to

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.

Much attention at the trial will focus on Brahim Chnina, the ******* father of a 13-year-old girl who claimed that she had been excluded from Paty’s class when he showed the caricatures on Oct. 5, 2020.

Chnina sent a series of messages to his contacts denouncing Paty, saying that “this ***** man” needed to be fired, along with the address of the school in the Paris suburb of Conflans Saint-Honorine.

In reality, Chnina’s daughter had lied to him and had never attended the lesson in question.

Paty was giving a Moral and Civic Education lesson mandated by the National Education Ministry on freedom of expression. He discussed the caricatures in this context, saying students who did not wish to see them could temporarily leave the classroom.

An online campaign against Paty snowballed, and 11 days after the lesson, Anzorov attacked the teacher with a ****** as he walked home, and displayed the teacher’s head on social media. Police later shot Anzorov as he advanced towards them armed.

Chnina will be tried for alleged association with a ********** enterprise for targeting the 47-year-old teacher through false information.

His daughter was

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in a juvenile court and given an 18-month suspended sentence. Four other students at Paty’s school were found guilty of involvement and given suspended sentences; a fifth, who pointed out Paty to Anzorov in exchange for money, was given a 6-month term with an electronic bracelet.

Abdelhakim Sefrioui is another key figure in the trial opening Monday for the ****** suspects. He presented himself as a spokesperson for Imams of France, although he had been dismissed from that role. He filmed a video in front of the school with the father of the student. He referred to the teacher as a “thug” multiple times and sought to pressure the school administration via social media.

Sefrioui founded the pro-****** Cheikh Yassine Collective in 2004, which was dissolved a few days after Paty’s ********. Sefrioui had long criticized and threatened Muslims who advocate friendship with Jews, including the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris.

Sefrioui and Chnina face 30 years in prison if convicted.

Chnina denied any incitement to “*****” in his messages and video, claiming he did not intend to incite hatred and *********, according to judicial documents.

Sefrioui’s lawyers have said they would seek his acquittal, and that the video filmed by Sefrioui in front of the school was not seen by the **********.

Anzorov, who had wanted to go to Syria to ****** with Islamic extremists there, discovered Paty’s name on jihadist social media channels, according to investigators. Anzorov lived 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Paty’s school and did not know the teacher.

Two of Anzorov’s friends face life imprisonment if convicted on charges of complicity in ******* in connection with a ********** enterprise. Naim Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov are accused of helping Anzorov buy a ****** and a pellet ****. Boudaoud also drove Anzorov to Paty’s school. They turned themselves in at the police station, and deny being aware of the attacker’s intentions.

The other four individuals are charged with ********* ********** *********** for communicating with the ******* on pro-****** Snapchat groups. They all deny being aware of the intent to ***** Samuel Paty. One of them sent smiling emojis after the decapitated teacher’s head was shared.

On Oct. 13, 2023, another

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by a ******** Islamist from Russia, originally from Ingushetia, a region bordering Chechnya.

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