Six teenagers face trial in Paris today Monday, November 27, for their involvement in beheading a teacher, Samuel Paty, in 2020.
This trial marks the beginning of a legal process in a case that shook France to its core.
The children, aged between 13 and 15 at the time of the murder of Samuel by a Chechen refugee, now stand trial for their alleged roles in the case.
While charged with making false statements and assisting in identifying the teacher for the killer, they may receive a maximum prison sentence of 2.5 years if convicted.
The deceased was stabbed and beheaded on October 16, 2020, after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on freedom of expression.
The youngest culprit, aged 13 at the time, had been suspended from school unrelated to the case, falsely claiming to her father that she confronted the teacher over a request for Muslim students to leave the class.
Her father, influenced by her false account, posted videos on social media calling for Paty’s dismissal.
These videos are believed to have motivated the 18-year-old Chechen, Abdoullakh Anzorov, who traveled 80km to commit the murder.
The other five suspects helped Anzorov identify Paty at the school in exchange for a €300 (N262,309) payment.
One claimed Anzorov wanted to film the teacher apologizing for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
However, a second trial will open next year for eight adults accused of complicity in the murder. These include the father of the 13-year-old girl.
Prosecutors have charged two friends of Anzorov with complicity in a terrorist murder, accusing them of obtaining weapons and driving Anzorov to the school on the day of the murder.
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