The appeal trial for four men convicted over the 2020 jihadist beheading of teacher Samuel Paty has begun in Paris, revisiting a case that shocked France.
PARIS: An appeal trial opened in Paris on Monday for four men convicted over the 2020 jihadist beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty.
Paty, 47, was murdered in October 2020 by an 18-year-old Islamist radical after showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a class on free speech.
His attacker, Abdoullakh Anzorov, was later killed in a police shootout.
In December 2024, eight people were found guilty of contributing to the climate of hatred that led to the killing.
Four of the convicted men have now appealed against their sentences, which range from 13 to 16 years in prison.
Two friends of the killer, Naim Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov, are appealing their 16-year sentences for complicity.
Prosecutors had accused them of providing Anzorov with logistical support, including help to buy weapons.
Two other defendants convicted for their role in the hate campaign against Paty have also appealed.
Brahim Chnina, the father of a schoolgirl who spread false claims about the teacher, was sentenced to 13 years.
His daughter, who was not in the class, apologised to Paty’s family during the initial trial.
Abdelhakim Sefrioui, an Islamist activist, was jailed for 15 years.
Prosecutors alleged Chnina and Sefrioui used social media to spread the teenager’s false claims and provoke hatred.
Chnina’s lawyers argue their client “never participated in terrorist activity”.
A lawyer for Sefrioui said there was “nothing linking” his client to Anzorov’s crimes.
The remaining four convicted defendants did not appeal their sentences.
The appeal trial at the Special Assize Court in Paris is scheduled to last until February 27.
Paty has become a free-speech icon in France, where blasphemy is legal.
The cartoons he showed were first published by satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015.
Islamist gunmen stormed the magazine’s offices that year, killing 12 people.
Paty’s killing occurred weeks after Charlie Hebdo republished the cartoons.
