Teens among 14 people to face trial over slaying of French teacher

French anti-terrorism magistrates have ordered 14 people, including six teenagers, to face trial over the brutal murder of high school teacher Samuel Paty in 2020.

Members of the public stand in front of a photograph depicting French history and geography teacher Samuel Paty as they attend a tribute ceremony in Eragny-sur-Oise, northwestern Paris, on October 16, 2021, held one year after Paty was beheaded. AFP - ALAIN JOCARD

Paty, who taught history and geography at a junior high school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 40 kilometres northwest of Paris, was beheaded for having shown caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed to pupils in a lesson on free speech.

The killing, which was met with shock around the world, was carried out by 18-year-old Chechnya-born Abdullakh Anzorov, who was shot dead by police.

Prosecutors say two of Anzorov's friends accompanied him to buy a knife, one of whom had gone with him to the school. Six other adults will be tried for complicity in a terrorist act.

Five teenagers who were aged 14 and 15 at the time of the murder will appear before a juvenile court. They face five years in prison.

A schoolgirl, meanwhile, will be tried for slanderous denunciation.

• Paty murder puts focus on role of teachers in passing on French values
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The father of one of Paty’s pupils, who started the social media campaign against the teacher even though his daughter was not in class when the cartoons were shown, has also been charged.

The father of the pupil reportedly exchanged messages with Anzorov via WhatsApp in the days leading up to the murder.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has accused the father and the Islamist radical of having issued a “fatwa” against Paty.

Paying homage to Paty in 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron said the teacher was killed because he embodied the values of the French republic.