The recent trial in Paris centers on six minors connected to the murder of Professor Samuel Paty. The incident occurred on October 16, 2020, in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a town northwest of the French capital. Prosecutors described it as a jihadist act that shocked the nation and left a lasting scar, a wound echoed again this year by the violent death of Professor Dominique Bernard on October 13.
In total, fourteen individuals face charges related to Paty’s death. The proceedings on this day focused specifically on the six youths who were between 13 and 15 when the crime happened. Eight adults are already set to stand trial later this year on charges tied to the same attack. The six defendants—five boys and one girl—attended the teacher training center where Paty taught. They are being tried for ordinary offenses rather than terrorist crimes.
One lawyer representing the families, Virginie Le Roy, described the minors’ role as a meaningful link in the sequence of events that led to the killing. Hearings for the minors take place in a specialized juvenile court, behind closed doors, with no journalists or public attendance. The maximum sentence for the six is two and a half years of imprisonment. In France, individuals aged 13 and older can be imprisoned for serious offenses.
Source of the attack: A student’s lie
The only girl involved was accused of spreading false statements about the events that preceded the killing. On October 7, 2020, Paty was scheduled to teach a session about freedom of expression and cartoons depicting Muhammad from the Charlie Hebdo issue. He did not attend that class and was suspended from the center for two days for reasons unrelated to the lesson. To justify the suspension, he told his parents that his teacher had asked Muslim students to raise their hands and leave the room during the cartoons, a claim later shown to be untrue.
The false claim helped fuel an aggressive campaign on social media against Paty led by Islamist militants. A video was recorded outside the institute calling for the professor’s dismissal. The messages reached Abdelhakim Sefrioui, who had lived in France since childhood and held asylum status. Sefrioui is described as having radicalized beliefs. The teenager who carried out the attack, Abdullah Anzorov, was 18 years old and had no direct connection to Paty or the school; his family had sought asylum in France. He lived about 80 kilometers from Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
“I don’t know how to forgive myself”
On the day of the crime, Anzorov asked students how Paty was perceived and where he could be found. He expressed a plan to record a message that would apologize for the caricature of the prophet. One student agreed for a fee of 300 euros, and Anzorov set out with four accomplices on what prosecutors described as a reckless scheme. The five friends now face trial on charges of common criminal activity, with prosecutors noting they were not aware of the jihadists’ true intent at the time.
During questioning, one accused student recalled thinking, I don’t know how to forgive myself. Another spoke of dreams of buying video games with the money earned that afternoon. They reportedly regretted what happened when the worst outcome occurred. Dylan Slama, the lawyer representing one of the minors, provided guidance in the courthouse corridors as the case unfolds. The proceedings mark the first in a series of eight coming-of-age hearings scheduled through November and December 2024, with further sessions anticipated in relation to Paty’s death. Some relatives have filed complaints against the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, alleging that threats against the teacher were not taken seriously enough. An investigation into these concerns began in April 2022. Even after three years, the wounds from the beheading remain difficult to heal for many in the community, as noted by observers familiar with the case.