It all happened in 2020 in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Samuel Paty, who taught history and geography, held a lesson on freedom of expression and then displayed the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad previously published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
A 13-year-old girl allegedly told her father she had been disciplined for confronting Paty, after he asked all Muslim students to leave the class before showing the cartoons, reports BBC.
The girl’s father subsequently published clips on social media calling for Samuel Paty to be fired.
The perpetrator shot dead
Prosecutors believe the father’s post prompted an 18-year-old man to travel eight miles, from Normandy to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, to murder and decapitate the history teacher. The suspected perpetrator was subsequently shot dead by the police.
It would later turn out that the 13-year-old girl was already turned off and wasn’t in the room at all when the images were shown. Now she is charged, along with five other young people, for complicity in the murder.
The six youths, who at the time of the crime were between 13 and 15 years old, are accused, among other things, of helping the killer identify and locate the teacher in exchange for promises of rewards of up to 350 euros.
In questioning, the teenagers have testified that at most they believed that Paty was at risk of being exposed on social media – but that they could never have imagined that their actions would end in murder.
“The role of minors is central”
Ahead of the start of the trial in Paris, one of the six defendants’ lawyers, Dylan Slama, describes the situation as “complicated”.
– My client will be associated with this event for the rest of his life, he says to BFMTV.
For Samuel Paty’s relatives, the trial is crucial, according to Virgine Le Roy, who represents one of his sisters.
– The role of the minors is central in the spiral that led to the murder, she tells the news channel.
The six accused young people in Paris risk being sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.