On Monday, the trial began for the father of a French pupil whose actions indirectly led to the brutal murder of a teacher in 2020. The teacher, Samuel Paty, was tragically stabbed and decapitated outside his school near Paris after showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in a class on free speech. This incident sparked outrage among many Muslims who consider depictions of prophets to be blasphemous.
The father, Brahim Chnina, is accused of association with a terrorist network for his alleged role in turning a dispute over the civics class into a campaign against Paty. Prosecutors claim that Chnina used social media to incite hatred towards the teacher, collaborating with Abdelhakim Sefrioui, who founded a banned Islamist organization.
Chnina and Sefrioui, along with six others, including associates of Paty's killer, are facing charges related to terrorism. Two of the associates are accused of complicity in the terrorist killing of Paty, as they allegedly knew of the killer's plans and helped him acquire weapons.
Chnina's daughter and five other adolescents were previously found guilty of charges related to the incident. Despite not being in Paty's class when the caricatures were shown, Chnina's daughter was convicted of making false accusations and slanderous comments.
The trial is expected to continue until December, with Sefrioui's lawyer emphasizing that his client condemns the attack and denies any connection to the assailant. The court will examine the evidence and testimonies to determine the extent of each defendant's involvement in this tragic event.
