The trial of the attack against Samuel Paty, on October 16, 2020, opened this Monday, November 4 before the specially composed assize court at the Paris courthouse. Among the accused are the father of the student who wrongly accused his teacher, the activist author of the videos denouncing the alleged misconduct of Samuel Paty, two friends of the terrorist, and four Internet users active in the jihadosphere.
Entrance to the major trial room, November 4, 2024 (Photo: ©P. Cabaret)
Paris courthouse, Monday November 4, 9:30 a.m. A cold autumn sun replaced the gray of the previous days. But walkers are not completely free to wander around the Ile de la Cité. Police vans and riot barriers block access to the palace. He is in fact under close surveillance for several weeks due to the trial for the attack against Samuel Paty. This is the fourth terrorist case tried in the major trials room this year, and the last before this infrastructure tailor-made for the attacks of November 13 is dismantled. Before him, in 2024, we judged the Trèbes-Carcassonne attack (March 23, 2018 – 4 dead, 15 injured), which notably cost the life of Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, the Strasbourg attack (March 11, 2018). December 2018 – 5 dead, 11 injured), then that of Peter Cherif, accused of having participated in the design of the attack on Charlie Hebdo on January 11, 2015 – 12 dead, 11 injured).
The emotion still alive
Inside the palace, the excitement which precedes the opening of the hearing is much more intense than during the previous trials judged in 2024, proof of the emotion aroused by the assassination of Samuel Paty is very strong and that opinion has not yet moved on. The queue lengthens in front of the security gates. Victim support staff, gendarmes, lawyers and journalists are busy, as regulars of the place, while the civil parties and the public try to find their way in this codified universe which is foreign to them. The huge courtroom is only half full when the court enters at 10:05 a.m.
At its head, Franck Zientara, who had already chaired the assize court specially composed during the trial of Abdelkader Merah, the big brother of Mohamed Merah, in October 2017. At the time, he declared at the opening of the proceedings “Justice needs calm. The facts that we are going to examine are terrible and have caused great emotion. The sole purpose of this trial is to determine whether the defendants herein are guilty.» Not a word of introduction this time. The president immediately proceeds with the first of the dry procedural measures which traditionally open assize trials: verifying the identity of the accused. In terrorist cases, this stage already provides information on the possible continuation of the debates. Some defendants in fact take the opportunity to make religious statements, others may choose to refuse to respond. This time everything went normally.
The three circles of accused
Two men risk more than the others, they are those in the inner circle, the friends of the terrorist Abdoullakh Anzorov. When his name is called, Nabil Boudaoud is the first to get up in the box. Thin, gray sweater and black pants, the 22-year-old man replied to the president that he had a BTS and was looking for a job at the time of his arrest. As in many terrorist trials, the perpetrator died while confronting the police. Justice is therefore interested in those around him who were able to know his project and help him realize it. Specifically, she accuses Nabil Boudaoud of having helped Anzorov find a weapon and of having led him to the scene. He faces life imprisonment for complicity. Just like the terrorist’s other friend, Azim Epsirkhanov. Aged 23, this Russian-born man chose to appear in court in a dark suit, light shirt and blue tie. A neat appearance which reminds one more of a candidate for a first position in a bank than of a defendant in an assassination trial. He must answer for complicity for having helped Anzorov find a weapon.
Hate videos
The second circle is made up of the authors of the videos. Brahim Chnina, 52, born in Algeria, was also detained. It was the student’s father who unfairly accused Samuel Paty. He is being prosecuted for criminal conspiracy in connection with a terrorist enterprise. Justice accuses him of having, with Islamist activist Abdelhakim Sefrioui, 65, also sitting in the box, developed and broadcast videos containing false information to arouse hatred against Samuel Paty, of having designated him as a target and to have disseminated precise information on his identity and his place of professional practice. Before being incarcerated, Brahim Chnina worked in transporting patients. Among his lawyers is the famous Frank Berton. These two defendants face 30 years of criminal imprisonment. Abdelhakim Sefrioui’s lawyers began developing their line of defense with the media well before the trial. Me Vincent Brengarth thus drew attention to the fact that nothing demonstrated that the terrorist had seen the incriminating videos. Another of his lawyers, Me Ouadie Elhamamouchi, explained on camera this Monday that his client was the only one to have no link with the terrorist.
The lawyers deliver their first statements to the press (Photo: ©P. Cabaret)
Smileys to greet the attack
Finally, the third circle is that of the jihadosphere. Yusuf Cinar, 22 years old, brown and black jacket, long hair, short beard is the only one in the group who appeared detained. Originally from Évreux, like Anzorov, the justice system accuses him of having belonged to the same Snapchat group as the terrorist, of having reinforced him in his project, then of having broadcast his video of demand as well as tribute videos afterwards the attack. He is being prosecuted for terrorist conspiracy (30 years incurred). Like the others, the president indicates that he has the right to remain silent, his “yeah, I got it” in response to “Did you understand? » made the room smile. It is the meeting of two worlds, that of the magistrate in a red dress with polished legal language, and that of the districts.
The three other accused appear free, they are seated in the front row of the defense benches. To see them, you would think they were business school students, of which there are thousands. Ismael Gamaev, 22 years old, born in Russia, studies management, he appears in a green sweater over a t-shirt. Loumane Ingar, also 22 years old, born in Saint-Denis, also a student, wore a suit jacket over a round-neck sweater. But the record tells a less smooth story than their demure looks. They belonged with Anzorov to the same Snapchat network for the exchange of jihadist content with the aim of leaving for areas occupied by terrorists. They encouraged Anzorov in his project then posted smileys in reaction to the photo of Samuel Paty’s severed head. They are also accused, for the first, of having participated in the preparation of another terrorist project and, for the second, of having considered joining Afghanistan or Syria.
“Apparently Charlie Hebdo wants more”
That leaves Priscilla Mangel, the only woman and the most intriguing profile in the file. Born in 1988, in Meudon, this radicalized Nîmes resident, active on social networks under the pseudonym “sugar scar”, is dressed in black, her head covered with a brown scarf which falls on her shoulders. In response to a question from the president, she declared herself without a profession. Justice accuses him of having tweeted when Charlie Hebdo indicated in September 2020 that it wanted to republish the caricatures “Apparently Charlie Hebdo wants more” and especially of having corresponded on Twitter with Anzorov by presenting him with Samuel Paty’s course as an illustration of the war against Muslims. She is also being prosecuted for terrorist conspiracy.
After specifying that the trial was recorded for history, the president moved on to the appeal of the civil parties. There are many lawyers accustomed to these terrorist trials, including notably Me Thibault de Montbrial for the FENVAC, (National Federation of Victims of Attacks and Collective Accidents), Me Antoine Casubolo for the AFVT (French Association of victims of terrorism), but also an unexpected figure in the person of Me Francis Szpiner, who represents the minor son of Samuel Paty and his ex-partner, while the parents are defended by Me Virginie Le Roy. Also forming civil parties were teachers from the college, the parents’ association of the establishment, the SNES union (National Union of Secondary School Teachers) and several police officers who intervened at the scene of the attack.
Around fifteen witnesses are missing
The next part of this dry procedure consists of calling witnesses. There are more than a hundred here. In total, only a handful of them came on the first day. Around fifteen have not been found, including two of the establishment’s students sentenced in 2023 by the juvenile court for their participation in the attack (see box). “The criminal sanction has obvious effects on them in terms of respect for justice” says Me Francis Szpiner ironically.
It is 11:45 a.m., this first morning of hearing ends. The president announces the schedule: the court will begin by examining in weeks two and three the question of the possible complicity of the terrorist’s two friends (Nabil Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov), then in weeks three and four, which “catalyzed the hatred” namely the videos made by Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui and, finally, how the jihadosphere could have contributed to the drama (Yusuf Cinar, Ismael Gamaev, Lougmane Ingar and Priscilla Mangel). The audience, which ended up filling the room throughout the morning, leaves for lunch. The afternoon will be devoted to reading the president’s report which presents in detail the facts to be judged.
Tuesday will begin the examination of the background of each of the eight accused.
A first trial was held in 2023 for minors
In November 2023, the courts tried six college students from Samuel Paty’s establishment. The student who made false accusations against her teacher (13 years old at the time of the facts) was sentenced to eighteen months suspended for false accusations. Four of the five schoolchildren who named their teacher as the terrorist were sentenced for terrorist conspiracy to sentences ranging from 14 to 18 months in prison. The fifth at 24 months, six months of which is closed under an electronic bracelet.
