The trial of eight people alleged to have helped the perpetrator in the brutal murder of history teacher Samuel Paty began on Monday in a court in Paris, four years after the incident.
The crime, classified as an Islamist-motivated terrorist act, shocked France and sparked international outrage.
In October 2020, the suspect, an 18-year-old of Russian-Chechen descent, murdered and beheaded 47-year-old Paty in a Paris suburb. French security forces then shot the attacker dead.
Before the killing, the history teacher had been targeted online for showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed during a lesson on freedom of expression.
Seven men and one woman are charged, including two friends of the perpetrator who were aware of his plans, according to the indictment. Both are said to have accompanied him when purchasing weapons, and one is also said to have driven him to the crime scene. They are accused of complicity in a terrorist murder. They risk life imprisonment.
The other defendants include the student’s father, who allegedly spread accusations against Paty on social media, as well as a man who allegedly posted videos of the murder on social networks.
The trial is expected to last until December 20. The suspects are accused of forming a criminal terrorist organization and face a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
Nearly a year ago, in a separate trial, six students were convicted by the juvenile court for their involvement in the events that led to the bloodshed.
Five of them received suspended sentences and one student was sentenced to six months in prison.
