Eight sentenced in France for the murder of teacher Samuel Paty. crime news
A teacher was stabbed and decapitated outside her school in Paris in 2020 following an online hate campaign.
A French court has sentenced eight people to prison for their role in the murder of a teacher who showed a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed during a class debate on freedom of expression.
The Paris Special Assize Court sentenced the defendants, who were convicted of organizing a hate campaign that culminated in the murder of 18-year-old Samuel Paty, 47, outside his school in Paris in 2020, between one and 16 years in prison Was. -A one-year-old Russian of Chechen origin, who was shot by the police on the spot.
The 540-seat courtroom was packed Friday for the verdict, with a panel of seven judges meeting or considering most of the conditions requested by prosecutors citing the “extraordinary gravity of the facts.”
Naim Boudoud, 22, and Azim Apsirkhanov, 23, were convicted of complicity in the murder and each sentenced to 16 years in prison. Boudoud was accused of taking the attacker, Abdullakh Anzorov, to the school while Apsirkhanov helped him obtain weapons.
Abdelhakim Sefraoui, a 65-year-old Muslim preacher, was given a 15-year sentence for organizing an online hate campaign against Paty and denouncing Paty as a “thug” in a video. According to French media, his lawyer said he would appeal the verdict.
Brahim Chnina, 52, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for being linked to a “terrorist enterprise”. They published videos falsely accusing Patty of disciplining their daughter for complaining about classes, naming the teacher, and identifying her school.
Four other defendants, who were part of a network of Anzorov sympathizers who spread inflammatory material online, were also convicted.
Prosecutor Nicholas Braconay told the court, “Nobody is saying they wanted Samuel Petty to die.” “But by lighting thousands of fuses online, they knew that one of them would lead to violence against a blasphemous teacher.”
‘Went away and felt relieved’
The verdict marks the final chapter of the Petty lawsuit.
Last year, a court found Chinna’s daughter and five other teenagers guilty of participating in a pre-planned conspiracy and helping prepare the ambush.
Gail Petty, the sister of the slain teacher, said she felt “inspired” and “relieved.” “Hearing the word ‘guilty’ – that’s what I needed,” he told reporters outside the court.
“I spent this week listening to the retelling of what happened, and it was hard to hear, but now the judge has explained what really happened, and it feels good,” she said, her voice breaking. Tears came and his eyes filled with tears.
The families of the accused reacted with gasping, crying, shouting and sarcastic clapping, causing the judge to pause several times and call for silence.
A relative shouted, “They lied about my brother.” “They took my baby away from me,” another woman cried, before being escorted out of the courtroom by police officers.
