Assassination of Samuel Paty: what are the risks for the eight accused involved in the murder of the professor ? The requisitions expected this Monday

After six weeks of trial, the public prosecutor's office must file a request, this Monday, December 16, 2024, against the eight defendants involved, to varying degrees, in the deadly spiral that led to the assassination of Professor Samuel Paty as he left his college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines) on October 16, 2020.

The submissions of the attorneys general, Nicolas Braconnay and Marine Valentin, are scheduled for the entire day of this Monday, December 16, 2024.

Two men, Naïm Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov, aged 22 and 23 respectively, friends of the assailant Abdoullakh Anzorov, face the harshest sentence, life imprisonment, for “complicity in terrorist assassination”.

Accused of helping Anzorov, an 18-year-old radical Chechen Islamist, to obtain weapons and, in the case of Boudaoud, of driving him to the vicinity of the college on October 16, 2020, the two young men claimed in court that they were completely unaware of their friend's murderous intentions and have consistently proclaimed their innocence.

While the Paris Special Assize Court did not uphold the offense of complicity in terrorist murder against them, the prosecution proposed on Thursday a reclassification as “criminal terrorist association”, a crime punishable by 30 years of criminal imprisonment. The lawyers for the two accused proposed a reclassification as “criminal association” under common law, an offence punishable by 10 years in prison.

Criminal terrorist criminal association

The other six accused are all being prosecuted for criminal terrorist criminal association.

Islamist preacher Abdelhakim Sefrioui, 65, and Brahim Chnina, 52, are accused of participating “in the development and dissemination of videos presenting false or distorted information intended to arouse a feeling of hatred” against Samuel Paty.

“What I did is irreparable and unforgivable”, admitted Brahim Chnina, the father of the schoolgirl who lied by falsely accusing Samuel Paty of having discriminated against Muslim students in his class during a lesson on freedom of expression.

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In reality, the schoolgirl had not did not attend Samuel Paty's class and the teacher had not discriminated against his students.

Regarding his criminal responsibility, Brahim Chnina contested the accusations brought against him. “I am not part of a terrorist criminal association,” he maintained.

A veteran of Islamist activism, founder of the (now dissolved) pro-Hamas association “Collectif Cheikh-Yassine”, Abdelhakim Sefrioui also contested the accusations against him.

“Abject” act

While the investigation established that Abdoullakh Anzorov became aware of the controversy targeting Samuel Paty through the messages and video published on October 7 and 8 by Brahim Chnina, nothing demonstrates that he saw the video posted by Abdelhakim Sefrioui on October 12.

“If my video had not existed, it would not have changed anything” to the fate of Samuel Paty, Abdelhakim Sefrioui dared to say at the hearing.

Filmed in front of the entrance to the college where Samuel Paty worked, the video of the preacher evokes a “rogue teacher” who committed a “despicable” act.

If the court did not retain the offense of terrorist criminal association against these two defendants, it would have the possibility of finding them guilty of the offense of common law criminal association or incitement to terrorism, aggravated by the use of an online communication service, an offense punishable by 7 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros.

Verdict expected Thursday or Friday

The four other defendants (Yusuf Cinar, Ismaël Gamaev, Louqmane Ingar, all aged 22, and Priscilla Mangel, 36, the only woman charged), presented by the prosecution as members of the “jihadosphere” that gravitated around Abdoullakh Anzorov on social networks, have all denied, with the sole exception of Ismaël Gamaev, being involved in the assassination of the professor.

If the court did not retain the terrorist criminal association against them, it would have the possibility of finding them guilty of incitement to terrorism or apology for terrorism, an offence punishable by seven years in prison and 100,000 euros fine.

The defense attorneys will speak on Tuesday and Wednesday. The verdict is expected on Thursday or Friday.