Eight individuals are on trial in Paris, accused of abetting the homicide of Samuel Paty, a instructor who was beheaded on the street outdoors his college 4 years in the past.
Abdoullakh Anzorov, a younger man of Chechen origin who was armed with a knife, was shot lifeless by police inside minutes of the assault.
The main target of the trial was subsequently not the homicide itself however the circumstances main as much as it.
Over seven weeks, a courtroom will hear how a 13-year-old woman’s lies spiraled uncontrolled on social media, sparking a world hate marketing campaign and provoking a lonely mission of revenge from a self-proclaimed defender of Islam.
Two of the lads on trial are accused of figuring out Mr Partey as a “blasphemer” on the web, with two of Anzorov’s pals allegedly offering him with logistical assist and 4 others providing assist through a chat line.
Mr Paty’s homicide shocked France.
He’s a devoted and well-liked historical past instructor at a secondary college in Conflans-Saint-Honorine, a affluent western suburb of Paris.
On October 6, 2020, he taught a gaggle of youngsters a lesson about free speech—the identical lesson he had given a number of instances earlier than.
drawn on The famous tragic episode of Charlie Hebdo magazine – How the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad led to the homicide of most of his workers in 2015 – He briefly confirmed an instance of cartoons.
Till then, he advises these nervous about being offended to look away.
The subsequent day, the daddy of considered one of his college students, a 13-year-old woman, requested her why she did not go to high school.
She instructed him she was being disciplined as a result of she dared to withstand when Mr Patty instructed Muslims to go away class so he might present nude images of the Prophet.
This can be a triple lie.
Mr Patty didn’t inform Muslims to go away the classroom. The woman was disciplined, however not for the explanations she claimed. She wasn’t even within the room the day Mr. Patty gave a category on free speech.
However because the web unfold, the lies started to unfold…and unfold.
First, the woman’s father, Brahim Chnina, made her repeat the assertion in a video he posted on Fb, the place he named the instructor.
Then native Islamist Abdelhakim Sefrioui created a 10-minute on-line video titled “Islam and the Prophet insulted at public universities.”
Inside days, the varsity was inundated with threats and hateful messages from all over the world. Patty instructed colleagues he was going by means of a tough time due to the marketing campaign in opposition to him.
In the meantime, the condemnation caught the eye of an 18-year-old Chechen refugee residing 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Rouen.
Anzorov made the preliminary notice on his telephone, which learn: “A instructor confirmed his class a nude picture of the Messenger of God.”
Anzorov then sought assist from two pals and is at present on trial.
One in all them was allegedly current at a store in Rouen when he purchased a knife. On October 16, the day of the assault, one other particular person purchased him two duplicate handguns and drove him to high school.
The ultimate 4 defendants – together with one lady – have been individuals Anzorov had spoken to on Snapchat and Twitter and who allegedly gave him encouragement.
The defendant admitted his involvement within the case, however questioned the costs of “terrorist affiliation” or “conspiracy to commit terrorist murders.”
Attorneys for the woman’s father and the Islamic preacher will argue that though they publicly condemned Mr Patty, they by no means referred to as for his homicide.
Likewise, legal professionals for Anzorov’s pals (actual and on-line) will say that they had no concept he deliberate to kill.
For prosecutors, context is vital. Samuel Paty’s homicide comes amid rising consciousness of the jihadist menace. Charlie Hebdo simply republished a few of its cartoons in October 2020 to mark the beginning of the trial over the unique assaults.
The Web is awash with new Islamic threats in opposition to France. In late September, a Pakistani man hacked two people with a machete Within the former places of work of Charlie Hebdo.
Prosecutors will argue that on this local weather, publicly denouncing an individual for blasphemy is tantamount to designating a terrorist goal.
A 12 months in the past, the woman on the heart of the case was Convicted in juvenile court on false charges and sentenced to probation.
5 different college students have been additionally convicted of figuring out Mr Occasion as Anzarov in change for cash.
The trial is predicted to final till the top of December.
