On April 7, 2021, seven people were indicted for the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty in October 2020, including six French teenagers. Paty was killed by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee, Abdullakh Anzorov, after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on freedom of speech.
The six teenagers, aged 17-18, were charged with “complicity in a terrorist murder” after they were identified in a video Anzorov posted on social media, asking for help in identifying Paty. The prosecutor’s office alleged that they provided information about the teacher in return for payment. They were not accused of direct involvement in planning or carrying out the attack.
In total, 14 people have been charged in connection with the case, including a parent of one of Paty’s students and a known Islamist radical. The tragic event triggered a nationwide debate about freedom of speech and secular values in France, as well as the issue of radicalization among young people.
