Eight people have been convicted in France in connection with the Islamist-motivated murder of teacher Samuel Paty four years ago.
They will have to spend between one and 16 years in prison, the judges in Paris ruled, according to reports in several French media outlets.
Paty, a 47-year-old history teacher, was killed and beheaded by an 18-year-old in a Paris suburb. Police shot and killed the attacker, who had Russian-Chechen roots. The crime, which was classified by French authorities as an act of terrorism motivated by Islamism, caused outrage in France and internationally.
Prior to the incident, the teacher had been vilified on the internet because he had shown caricatures in class as an example of freedom of expression, prompting the killer to attack him. Two of the perpetrator’s friends have now been sentenced to 16 years in prison for their involvement.
They are said to have been privy to the plans and to have accompanied the perpetrator when he purchased weapons, as well as driving him to the scene of the crime. They maintained until the very end of the trial that they had no idea of his true intentions. (DPA)