Eight people have been convicted and sentenced with prison terms ranging from one to 16 years by a French court for their involvement in the murder of Samuel Paty, a middle-school teacher, who had shown caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in class,  Reuters reported.

Paty, 47, had showed the caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in class in October 2020, following which an 18-year-old Chechen assailant stabbed and beheaded him outside his school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris. The assailant was shot dead by police moments after.

The Convicts and their role

One of the convicts was the father of a student whose fake account of Paty’s use of the caricatures sparked a wave of posts on social media targeting Paty.

The court sentenced Brahim Chnina to 13 years in prison for criminal terrorist association, the report said quoting broadcaster Franceinfo. Chnina had published videos falsely accusing the teacher of disciplining his daughter for complaining about the class, naming Paty and identifying his school.

Another accused, Abdelhakim Sefrioui, who’s the founder of a hardline Islamist organization, was awarded a 15-year sentence. Both Sefrioui and Chnina were found guilty of inciting hatred against the middle-school teacher.

Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet Mohammad to be blasphemous. Sefrioui’s lawyer said his client would appeal the decision, according to French media.

Two associates of Paty’s killer, Abdullakh Anzorov, were also convicted. Naim Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov were sentenced to 16 years in prison for complicity in a terrorist killing. Reportedly, both had denied wrongdoing.

Last year, a court found Chnina’s daughter and five other adolescents guilty of participating in a premeditated conspiracy and helping prepare an ambush.

Chnina’s daughter, who was not in Paty’s class when the caricatures were shown, was convicted of making false accusations and slanderous comments. 

French media reported that the 13-year-old made the allegations after her parents questioned why she had been suspended from school for two days.

(With inputs from Reuters)