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Trial opens in France in the beheading of a teacher over prophet cartoons

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Trial opens in France in the beheading of a teacher over prophet cartoons
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Trial opens in France in the beheading of a teacher over prophet cartoons

2024-11-04 20:44 Last Updated At:20:51

PARIS (AP) — The trial of eight people in Paris on terrorism charges started on Monday over the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, who was killed by an Islamic extremist after showing caricatures of Islam's prophet to his middle school students for a lesson on freedom of expression.

Paty's shocking death left an imprint on France, and several schools are now named after him. Paty was killed outside his school near Paris on Oct. 16, 2020, by an 18-year-old Russian of Chechen origin, who was shot to death by police.

Those on trial include friends of assailant Abdoullakh Anzorov who allegedly helped purchase weapons for the attack, as well as people who are accused of spreading false information online about the teacher and his class.

The proceedings started Monday in the presence of members of Paty’s family, including his two sisters.

The trial was held under high security, with many police officers patrolling and making checks outside and inside the courtroom.

Five of the accused, who are currently imprisoned, were seated in a wide glass box. Three others, placed under judicial supervision, sat on the defendants' benches outside the box.

The attack occurred against a backdrop of protests in many Muslim countries and calls online for violence targeting France and the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The newspaper had republished its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad a few weeks before Paty's death to mark the opening of the trial over deadly 2015 attacks on its newsroom by Islamic extremists.

The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious. But the fallout from Paty’s killing reinforced the French state’s commitment to freedom of expression and its firm attachment to secularism in public life.

“We expect that the justice system will be up to the crime that has been committed," Francis Szpiner, the lawyer representing Paty's 9-year-old son, told reporters. “It’s an unheard-of event in the history of the republic. It’s the first time a teacher has been assassinated because he is a teacher."

Thibault de Montbrial, a lawyer for Paty’s sister, Mickaëlle Paty, said the trial "will enable everybody in French society to become aware of the direct link, extremely clear, that exists between fundamentalist Islam ... and the violence that can lead to such a terrifying act."

Much attention at the trial will focus on Brahim Chnina, the Muslim father of a teenager who was 13 at the time and claimed that she had been excluded from Paty’s class when he showed the caricatures on Oct. 5, 2020.

Chnina, 52, sent a series of messages to his contacts denouncing Paty, saying that “this sick man” needed to be fired, along with the address of the school in the Paris suburb of Conflans Saint-Honorine.

In reality, Chnina’s daughter had lied to him and had never attended the lesson in question.

Paty was giving a lesson mandated by the National Education Ministry on freedom of expression. He discussed the caricatures in this context, saying students who did not wish to see them could temporarily leave the classroom.

An online campaign against Paty snowballed, and 11 days after the lesson, Anzorov attacked the teacher with a knife as he walked home, and displayed the teacher’s head on social media. Police later shot Anzorov as he advanced towards them armed.

Chnina will be tried for alleged association with a terrorist enterprise for targeting the 47-year-old teacher through false information.

His daughter was tried last year in a juvenile court and given an 18-month suspended sentence. Four other students at Paty's school were found guilty of involvement and given suspended sentences; a fifth, who pointed out Paty to Anzorov in exchange for money, was given a 6-month term with an electronic bracelet.

Abdelhakim Sefrioui, 65, is another key figure in the trial opening Monday for the adult suspects. He presented himself as a spokesperson for Imams of France, although he had been dismissed from that role. He filmed a video in front of the school with the father of the student. He referred to the teacher as a “thug” multiple times and sought to pressure the school administration via social media.

Sefrioui founded the pro-Hamas Cheikh Yassine Collective in 2004, which was dissolved a few days after Paty's killing. Sefrioui had long criticized and threatened Muslims who advocate friendship with Jews, including the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris.

Sefrioui and Chnina face 30 years in prison if convicted.

Chnina denied any incitement to “kill” in his messages and video, claiming he did not intend to incite hatred and violence, according to judicial documents.

Sefrioui’s lawyer, Ouadie Elhamamouchi, said he will seek to prove his client is “innocent" and that the video filmed by Sefrioui in front of the school was not seen by the attacker. "In this case, he is the only one who never had any link with the terrorist,” Elhamamouchi said.

Anzorov, who had wanted to go to Syria to fight with Islamic extremists there, discovered Paty’s name on jihadist social media channels, according to investigators. Anzorov lived 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Paty's school and did not know the teacher.

Two of Anzorov’s friends face life imprisonment if convicted on charges of complicity in murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise. Naim Boudaoud, 22, and Azim Epsirkhanov, 23, are accused of helping Anzorov buy a knife and a pellet gun. Boudaoud also drove Anzorov to Paty’s school. They turned themselves in at the police station, and deny being aware of the attacker’s intentions.

The other four individuals are charged with criminal terrorist conspiracy for communicating with the killer on pro-jihad Snapchat groups. They all deny being aware of the intent to kill Samuel Paty.

On Oct. 13, 2023, another teacher in France was killed by a radical Islamist from Russia, originally from Ingushetia, a region bordering Chechnya.

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AP Journalists Marine Lesprit, Nicolas Garriga and Alexander Turnbull contributed to the story.

FILE - Hundreds of people gather on Republique square during a demonstration Sunday Oct. 18, 2020 in Paris, in support of freedom of speech and to pay tribute to French history teacher Samuel Paty. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

FILE - Hundreds of people gather on Republique square during a demonstration Sunday Oct. 18, 2020 in Paris, in support of freedom of speech and to pay tribute to French history teacher Samuel Paty. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

FILE - A Republican Guard holds a portrait of Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)

FILE - A Republican Guard holds a portrait of Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron leaves after paying his respects by the coffin of slain teacher Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron leaves after paying his respects by the coffin of slain teacher Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)

Next Article

Jury are deliberating in the long-running YSL gang and racketeering trial

2024-11-27 03:49 Last Updated At:03:50

ATLANTA (AP) — Deliberations are underway in Atlanta after a year of testimony in the gang and racketeering trial that originally included the rapper Young Thug.

Jurors are considering whether to convict Shannon Stillwell and Deamonte Kendrick, who raps as Yak Gotti, on gang, murder, drug and gun charges. The original indictment charged 28 people with conspiring to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Opening statements in the trial for six of those defendants happened a year ago. Four of them, including Young Thug, pleaded guilty last month. The rapper was freed on probation. Stillwell and Kendrick rejected plea deals after more than a week of negotiations, and their lawyers chose not to present evidence or witnesses.

Both seemed to be in good spirits Tuesday morning after closings wrapped the previous night. Kendrick was chatting and laughing with Stillwell and his lawyers before the jury arrived for instructions.

Kendrick and Stillwell were charged in the 2015 killing of Donovan Thomas Jr., also known as “Big Nut,” in an Atlanta barbershop.

Prosecutors painted Stillwell and Kendrick as members of a violent street called Young Slime Life, or YSL, co-founded in 2012 by Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams. During closings on Monday, they pointed to tattoos, song lyrics and social media posts they said proved members, including Stillwell, admitted to killing people in rival gangs.

Prosecutors say Thomas was in a rival gang. Stillwell was also charged in the 2022 killing of Shymel Drinks, which prosecutors said was in retaliation for the killing of two YSL associates days earlier.

Defense attorneys Doug Weinstein and Max Schardt said the state presented unreliable witnesses, weak evidence and cherry-picked lyrics and social media posts to push a false narrative about Stillwell, Kendrick and the members of YSL.

Schardt, Stillwell's attorney, reminded the jury that alleged YSL affiliates said during the trial that they had lied to police. Law enforcement played a “sick game” by promising they would escape long prison sentences if they said what police wanted them to say, Schardt said. He theorized that one of those witnesses could have killed Thomas.

The truth is that their clients were just trying to escape poverty through music, Schardt said.

“As a whole, we know the struggles that these communities have had,” Schardt said. “A sad, tacit acceptance that it’s either rap, prison or death.”

Young Thug’s record label is also known as YSL, an acronym of Young Stoner Life. Kendrick was featured on two popular songs from the label’s compilation album Slime Language 2, “Take It to Trial" and “Slatty," which prosecutors presented as evidence in the trial.

Weinstein, Kendrick’s defense attorney, said during closings it was wrong for prosecutors to target the defendants for their music and lyrics. Prosecutor Simone Hylton disagreed, and said surveillance footage and phone evidence supported her case.

“They have the audacity to think they can just brag about killing somebody and nobody’s gonna hold them accountable,” Hylton said.

The trial had more than its fair share of delays. Jury selection took nearly 10 months, and Stillwell was stabbed last year at the Fulton County jail, which paused trial proceedings.

Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took over after Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville was removed from the case in July because he had a meeting with prosecutors and a state witness without defense attorneys present.

Whitaker often lost patience with prosecutors over moves such as not sharing evidence with defense attorneys, once accusing them of “poor lawyering.” But the trial sped up under her watch.

In October, four defendants, including Young Thug, pleaded guilty, with the rapper entering a non-negotiated or “blind” plea, meaning he didn't have a deal worked out with prosecutors.

Nine people charged in the indictment, including rapper Gunna, accepted plea deals before the trial began. Charges against 12 others are pending. Prosecutors dropped charges against one defendant after he was convicted of murder in an unrelated case.

Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon

Defendant Deamonte Kendrick appears for the Young Thug trial at Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Defendant Deamonte Kendrick appears for the Young Thug trial at Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Shannon Stillwell, right, sits with his attorney, Max Schardt left, as he looks at the prosecutors during the Young Thug trial at Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Shannon Stillwell, right, sits with his attorney, Max Schardt left, as he looks at the prosecutors during the Young Thug trial at Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker speaks with a prosecutor during the Young Thug trial at Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker speaks with a prosecutor during the Young Thug trial at Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

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