The crime shocked the Gallic country not only because of the cruelty of the murder, but because it touched one of the pillars of the French Republic: the school
A minute of silence, class discussions on freedom of expression and screening of documentaries on secularism. All schools and institutes in France today pay tribute to Professor Samuel Paty, the history and geography teacher beheaded on October 16, 2020 by an Islamist terrorist because he had taught his students in class the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, published by the magazine satirical “Charlie Hebdo”, in a course on freedom of expression.
His killer, an 18-year-old radicalized Chechen refugee named Abdullakh Aznorov, was killed by the police shortly after the crime. He did not know the victim personally, but he echoed a campaign on social media against the professor and decided to take revenge.
The crime shocked the whole of France not only because of the cruelty of the murder, but because it touched one of the pillars of the French Republic: the school. Samuel Paty became a hero posthumously.
“In memory of Samuel Paty,” read the wreath placed today by those responsible for the Great Mosque of Paris in front of the Bois d’Aulne secondary school in Conflans-Saint-Honorine (outskirts of Paris), where the teacher worked . The crown had a quote from the Muslim Andalusian philosopher and physician Averroes (1126-1198): “Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hatred and hatred leads to violence.”
The tributes will continue tomorrow Saturday. In Paris, a square will be inaugurated, located near the Sorbonne University, named after this 47-year-old professor. “We will never forget Samuel Paty,” wrote on Twitter the mayor of Paris and socialist candidate for the presidential elections, Anne Hidalgo, who described him as “an ardent defender of secularism, eager to see his students develop and think freely”
A tribute is also planned tomorrow at Samuel Paty’s school. Students, teachers and parents of students will participate in the ceremony. The poem “Freedom” by Paul Eluard will be read.
Samuel Paty’s family will be received on Saturday by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jean Castex. And a plaque with his name will also be inaugurated at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education.
One year after the crime, 15 people, seven of them minors, have been charged for being involved, to a lesser or greater degree, in the crime. Among the defendants are a student of Samuel Paty, who lied to her family and said that she had been in the class in which the teacher taught the Muhammad cartoons. His father, Brahim Chnina, is also charged with starting a social media campaign against Samuel Paty.
Five students, aged between 13 and 15, are also charged with having allegedly told the murderer who the teacher was. In exchange for the information, the killer promised them 350 euros.
Another defendant is the radical Islamist militant Abdelhakim Sefrioui, who appears in the so-called “S file” of people likely to represent a danger to the security of the State due to their radicalization. Sefrioui posted a video on YouTube in which he publicly denounced the murdered professor and called him a “rogue”, putting him on the target.
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