Six teenagers in court over beheading of French school teacher

Six teenagers in court over beheading of French school teacher

On Monday, six teenagers will stand trial behind closed doors, accused of being involved in the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty by a suspected Islamist in 2020, in an incident that struck to the core of the country’s secular ideals.

In a lecture on free expression, the teacher showed his students drawings of the Prophet Mohammad, infuriating a number of Muslim parents. Muslims consider any representation of the Prophet to be blasphemous.

A 15-year-old girl is one of the minors who allegedly alerted her parents that Paty had exhibited caricatures of the prophet in her class. She will be prosecuted with false accusation once it is determined that she was not in the class at the time the incident occurred.

Paty, 47, was assassinated outside his school in a Paris suburb by an 18-year-old assailant of Chechen heritage born in Russia who was shot dead by police shortly after the incident.

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The five other minors to be prosecuted, aged between 14 and 15 at the time of the attack, will be charged with premeditated criminal conspiracy, or ambush.

They are suspected of having pointed out Paty to the murderer or helped monitor his exit from the school.

All six minors were referred to the children’s court and could face 2.5 years in prison.

The hearings, due to last until Dec. 8, will be held behind closed doors.

Eight adults are also accused and will appear before a special criminal court.

France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim minority and has suffered a wave of attacks by Islamist militants or their sympathisers in past years.

In the wake of Paty’s killing, some teachers acknowledged they censored themselves to avoid confrontation with pupils and parents over religion and free speech.

Six teenagers in court over beheading of French school teacher

(Reuters)