Six youths were found guilty by a French court on Friday in relation to the shocking murder of history teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, which involved his beheading. In a lesson on freedom of expression, the instructor had shown his students parodies of the Prophet Muhammad, which infuriated some Muslim parents. Prophetic depictions are frowned upon by most Muslims, who view them as blasphemous.
One of the six defendants on trial was an adolescent girl who claimed to have informed her parents that Paty had requested Muslim students to vacate the room before to displaying the cartoons. Since it was shown that she was not in the class at the time, the court held her guilty of making slanderous remarks and making false accusations.
The court found five of the defendants guilty of staking out the teacher
The court found five of the defendants, who were 14 and 15 at the time of the attack, guilty of staking out the teacher and identifying him for the attacker. Another defendant, 13 at the time, was found guilty of lying about the classroom debate in a comment that aggravated online anger against the teacher. The defendants — all students at Paty’s school — testified that they didn’t know the teacher would be killed.
All were handed brief or suspended prison terms, and required to stay in school or jobs during the duration of their suspended terms with regular medical checkups. They left the courtroom without speaking. Some had their heads down as they listened to the verdicts. One appeared to wipe tears.
