France to try 14 people, including six CHILDREN, for murder of teacher Samuel Paty three years after he was beheaded by Islamist extremist
- Samuel Paty was beheaded in October 2020 by an 18-year-old Islamic extremist
- Abdullakh Anzorov was shot dead by police at the scene of the bloody murder
- Prosecutors recommend charges of complicity in terrorist murder for two friends
French prosecutors are seeking to bring 14 people to justice for the 2020 murder and beheading of a school teacher by an Islamic extremist, a crime that shocked France, a source close to the case told AFP today.
The most serious charges – complicity in a terrorist murder – have been brought against two friends of the Chechen refugee who killed Samuel Paty after showing pictures of the Prophet Mohammed to his students during an ethics class.
The National Terrorism Crime Prosecutor’s Office has also recommended charges against six other adults – and six children – for alleged crimes related to the Paty massacre in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
The killer, 18-year-old Abdullakh Anzorov, was shot dead by police on the spot.
A photo of French history and geography teacher Samuel Paty is on display at his tribute ceremony in Eragny-sur-Oise, northwest Paris
The terrorist who beheaded a French teacher, 18-year-old Abdullakh Anzorov, near Paris
Crowd gathered at Place de la Sorbonne to watch the National Tribute to slain school teacher Samuel Paty led by French President Emmanuel Macron on October 21, 2020 in Paris
Prosecutors believe his friends, named as Azim E. and Naim B. in the investigation, accompanied Anzorov to buy a knife and Naim. B traveled with him to the school.
Investigating magistrates will make the final decision on whether or not to charge the suspects and bring them to trial.
Paty was targeted after reports spread on social media that he showed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to his class.
The 47-year-old history and geography teacher had used the magazine as part of an ethics class to discuss freedom of speech laws in secular France, which does not criminalize blasphemy.
Prosecutors have also recommended terrorist association charges for the father of a student at Mr Paty’s school, a radical Islamist preacher, as well as a Muslim convert who is in contact with Anzorov via Twitter.
A teenager was jailed for two years in October for her role in the gruesome beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty (photo)
Many paid tribute to the slain teacher in October 2020 after his death, with the phrase ‘Je Suis Samuel’ shared in solidarity
Paty has become a symbol of France’s struggle to maintain its strict secular values, with President Emmanuel Macron calling him a “silent hero” of the republic.
News of the investigation into Anzorov’s alleged accomplices comes just months after a Muslim girl, 17, was jailed for two years last October for her role in the murder of Mr Paty.
The girl, whose name cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, was convicted of ‘terrorist criminal association’ by the Paris children’s court.
The teen passed on the terrorist’s demands at the time of the assassination and was found to have Isis footage and weapons information on her phone.
During her sentencing, she expressed a desire to travel to Turkey or Chechnya, with prosecutors saying she still showed signs of radicalization.
But in custody, police said she made comments condemning the murder.
She was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, with 18 months suspended.