A total of 14 people are set to face trial in France over the beheading of a teacher by an Islamist extremist in 2020, a crime that shocked the country, legal documents obtained by AFP show.
The most serious charges — complicity in a terrorist murder — are being pressed against two friends of the Chechen refugee who murdered teacher Samuel Paty after he showed pictures of the Prophet Mohammed to his pupils, the case documents reveal.
The killer, 18-year-old Abdullakh Anzorov, was shot dead by police at the scene in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
Prosecutors believe his friends, Azim Epsirkhanov and Naim Boudaoud, accompanied Anzorov to buy a knife and Boudaoud traveled with him to the school.
Another six adults will be tried for associating with terrorists, including the father of a girl at Paty’s school, an Islamic preacher, as well as a Muslim convert in contact with Anzorov via Twitter.
Six teenagers will be brought before children’s courts for allegedly undertaking surveillance around the school and identifying Paty for his killer.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
