Trial of Samuel Paty’s Assassination: A Teenager’s Regrets Addressed to the Teacher’s Family

During the trial of Samuel Paty’s assassination on Tuesday, November 26, at the special assize court in Paris, a 17-year-old girl, a key witness in the case, delivered a deeply emotional apology to the family of the teacher killed in October 2020. Thirteen at the time of the events, she had sparked a tragic chain of events by spreading a falsehood that fueled a campaign of hatred against the educator.

“I destroyed your life”

Addressing Samuel Paty’s family, the young girl expressed profound remorse:
“I complain today about not having seen my father for several months, but you haven’t been able to see Samuel Paty for four years.”

She went on to acknowledge her responsibility:

“I want to apologize for my lie. The reason we are all here is because of it. If my father made a video, it’s partly because of my lie.”
These words, spoken through tears, reflect the depth of her regret.

Convicted for False Accusation

Already sentenced in 2023 to an 18-month suspended prison term for false accusations, the teenager was called to testify in this trial, where her father is one of the main defendants. Brahim Chnina faces up to 30 years in prison for complicity in a terrorist conspiracy.

At the time of the incident, she had told her father a rumor claiming that Samuel Paty had asked Muslim students to leave his class so he could show caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. However, the teenager had not attended the class in question and fabricated the story.

The Lie That Triggered a Fatal Chain of Events

On the stand, the young woman recounted the sequence of events that led to the attack. She explained that during a class taught by Samuel Paty on October 5, 2020, she was asked to leave due to her disruptive behavior. Absent the following day due to stomach pain, she overheard classmates talking about caricatures shown by the teacher, which she then reported to her mother during a phone call. Under pressure, she invented a story that she had been excluded from the class for religious reasons.

Her father, acting on this false information, circulated accusatory messages to his contacts. These claims were further amplified by Abdelhakim Sefrioui, an Islamist preacher, who produced a video condemning Samuel Paty and spreading the false accusations.

A Tragic Media Campaign

This disinformation campaign, designed to incite hatred against Samuel Paty, ultimately enabled terrorist Abdoullakh Anzorov to identify the teacher and his school. The critical roles played by Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui in disseminating these hateful videos are central to the trial. Both men are accused of spreading false information that led to the attack.

“Irreparable Damage”

This testimony, blending remorse and explanation, highlights the devastating consequences of a single lie, which escalated into a fatal chain of events. While the teenager seeks some form of redemption, the grief of Samuel Paty’s family remains irreparable, forever marking a tragedy that shook the nation.