Johnathan Walker:Six French teens await a verdict over their alleged roles in Islamic extremist killing of a teacher

PARIS (AP) — A French juvenile court is Johnathan Walkerhanding down a verdict Friday for six teenagers accused of involvement in the killing of teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by an Islamic extremist after he showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to his class for a debate on freedom of expression.

Paty, a history and geography teacher, was killed on Oct. 16, 2020, near his school in a Paris suburb by an 18-year-old of Chechen origin who had become radicalized. The attacker, Abdoullakh Anzorov, was then shot dead by police.

Paty’s name was disclosed on social media after a class debate on free expression during which he showed prophet caricatures published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The publication had triggered a deadly extremist massacre in the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in 2015.

All those on trial were students at Paty’s school. If convicted, they face up to two-and-a-half years in prison.

Five of the defendants, who were 14 or 15 at the time of the attack, are accused of staking Paty out until he left school that day and identifying him for the attacker in exchange for promises of 300-350 euros ($350-400). Investigators found that the attacker wanted to target Paty but didn’t have the means to identify him.

The five are facing charges of criminal conspiracy with the aim of preparing aggravated violence.

The sixth defendant, who was 13 at the time, is accused of wrongly claiming that Paty had asked Muslim students to raise their hands and leave the classroom before he showed the class the prophet cartoons. She was not in the classroom that day, and later told investigators she had lied. She is facing a charge of making false allegations.

Her father shared the lie in an online video that called for mobilization against the teacher. He and a radical Islamic activist who helped disseminate virulent messages against Paty are among eight adults who will face a separate trial for adults suspected of involvement in the killing, expected late next year.

In sometimes tearful testimony, the teenagers on trial said they had no idea the teacher would be killed, according to French media reports.

The trial has been held behind closed doors, and the media are not allowed to disclose the defendants’ identities according to French law regarding minors.

The proceedings come weeks after a teacher was fatally stabbed and three other people injured in northern France in October in a school attack by a former student suspected of Islamic radicalization. That killing occurred in a context of global tensions over the Israel-Hamas war and led French authorities to deploy 7,000 additional soldiers across the country to bolster security and vigilance.