14 to be tried over beheading of French teacher who showed Prophet Mohammed pics

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.