On October 16, 2020, as the trial related to the violent attacks linked to Charlie Hebdo began in Paris, a history teacher was beheaded in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine by Abdoullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old Chechen refugee. Anzorov was incited by videos from Brahim Chnina, a parent of a student who falsely targeted the teacher for showing a caricature of Muhammad. Starting this week, Chnina and seven others, including Anzorov’s friends, face trial for their involvement in the attack, with charges ranging from complicity in murder to criminal conspiracy.
On October 16, 2020, as the trial for the violent attacks carried out at Charlie Hebdo, the Hyper Cacher, and in Montrouge was taking place in the Paris court, a new attack involving a cleaver occurred in front of the former offices of the satirical newspaper. A history and geography teacher was decapitated just meters away from the Bois d’Aulne college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines), where he was employed.
The perpetrator, 18-year-old Abdoullakh Anzorov, a young Chechen Russian, believed the teacher had ‘shown a nude image of the prophet Muhammad’ to his 4th-grade students ten days prior, specifically a cartoon from Charlie Hebdo, during a lesson on press freedom titled ‘Dilemma: To be or not to be Charlie’. This refugee, residing in Évreux (Eure), learned of the lesson from Brahim Chnina, a parent of one of the students, who targeted the teacher in online videos after being informed by his daughter, despite her not attending the class.
From this Monday until December 20, this father and seven others are appearing before the special assizes court in Paris, accused of being involved in the attack to varying extents. Two friends of the terrorist, Naïm Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov, are being tried for complicity in terrorist murder and face life sentences. Six others are charged with criminal association with intent to commit terrorism, facing up to thirty years in prison.
The Girl’s Father and the Islamist Activist
Brahim Chnina, a 52-year-old Moroccan, is the father of Z., the student whose outcry initiated the controversy surrounding Samuel Paty’s lesson. He is a co-founder of Aide-Moi, an organization aimed at assisting people with reduced mobility, particularly for pilgrimages to Mecca. Chnina, along with Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a 65-year-old Franco-Moroccan Islamist activist and founder of the pro-Hamas collective Cheikh Yassine, dissolved in October 2020, is accused of orchestrating a significant campaign of cyberbullying against the teacher.
On October 7 and 8, the two men created and shared videos on social media targeting the ‘rogue’, which contained false or misleading information intended to incite hatred against Samuel Paty. They also widely shared the teacher’s name and the address of the college.
Between October 7 and 9, Brahim Chnina had nine phone contacts with terrorist Abdoullakh Anzorov. The man, detained since October 21, 2020, denies any responsibility for the charges against him. The same goes for Abdelhakim Sefrioui, currently imprisoned, who asserts he only wanted ‘administrative sanctions’ against Samuel Paty.
Naïm Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov, Friends of the Attacker
Also present in the dock on Monday were Azim Epsirkhanov and Naïm Boudaoud, friends of the assailant. They are suspected of having precise knowledge of the terrorist plan. These two Évreux residents accompanied Abdoullakh Anzorov to purchase weapons (a knife, an Airsoft gun, and steel balls), and Naïm Boudaoud also drove him to the Bois d’Aulne college on the day of the attack.
Naïm Boudaoud, a 22-year-old Frenchman, is described as ‘vulnerable’ and ‘influenced’. According to the prosecution, he showed ‘no visible signs of violent radicalization’ in 2020.
Azim Epsirkhanov, a 23-year-old of Chechen descent from Russia, arrived in France in December 2010 and met Abdoullakh Anzorov at school in 2013. He admitted to having received 800 euros from the terrorist to urgently procure a firearm, although he was unsuccessful.
Four Additional Accused Active on Social Media
The remaining four are also charged with participating in an agreement aimed at preparing for a terrorist act, being aware of the criminal ideological context stemming from the distribution of religious caricatures, and having encouraged Abdoullakh Anzorov in his plans before the attack.
Among them is