On Friday, an Islamist terrorist beheaded a 47-year-old high school teacher named Samuel Paty in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine for showcasing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed to his students at College du Bois d’Aulne. Samuel Paty, a history teacher, showed the cartoons to his students on October 9 during a civics class on freedom of speech. Now, some details have emerged regarding the gruesome beheading case.
The gruesome attack was executed by a Muslim teenager of Russian origin, Abdoullakh Abouyezidovitch A. He stabbed the 47-year-old teacher in his throat, right outside the school, while shouting “Allahu Akbar”. He was later shot dead during an encounter with the police. French President Emanuel Macron has condemned the barbaric attack and had dubbed it as ‘Islamist terrorist attack.’
Online campaign and a ‘call for mobilisation’
The terrorist attack took place in the backdrop of an online campaign by the father of a female Muslim student, who was present in Samuel Paty’s class. He claimed on social media that his daughter was ‘disciplined’ for ‘expressing displeasure’ over the manner in which the lesson was taught. He had also demanded the removal of the said teacher. Although he initially did not name the victim, later revealed his name in a Facebook video.
In another Youtube video on October 12, published on Youtube, the man came on air along with his daughter. A man off-camera, now known to French security agencies, had claimed that President Emmanuel Macron was inciting hatred against Muslims and called for ‘mass mobilisation’ in case teacher Samuel Paty was not removed. It is now being speculated whether the 18-year-old terrorist was motivated by the online campaign to avenge the insults against the Prophet.
Terrorist asked students to identify the teacher, prior to beheading
Abdoullakh Abouyezidovitch A, born in Moscow, had come to France as a refugee and was out of the radar of the anti-terrorism police. He had earlier been to courts for minor offences. Reportedly, he wanted to ‘punish’ the teacher for his ‘blasphemous act’. The 18-year-old Islamic terrorist, who lived in the Normandy town of Évreux, had no connections with the school or the teacher. On Friday, he waited outside the school premises and asked pupils to point out Samuel Paty.
He then followed the victim, who was en route to his house on foot. Abdoullakh, then, attacked Paty, inflicted wounds to his head and then beheaded him. The young terrorist then uploaded the gory picture of the severed head on Twitter and wrote, “In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful, … to (President Emmanuel) Macron, leader of the infidels, I have executed one of your hell-hounds who dared to belittle (Prophet) Mohammad.”
10 people detained over beheading case
As per reports, France police have initiated a probe into the beheading of the 47-year-old high school teacher. Since Friday, the police have arrested a total of 10 people in connection to the case. On Saturday, France 24 reported that 9 people were arrested on Friday including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working. While condemning the incident, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said, “Our unity and our resolve are the only responses faced with the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism.”
Paris beheading a grim reminder of Charlie Hebdo massacre
The Friday’s attack comes amidst the ongoing trial against the terrorists responsible for the January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo. In January 2015, Islamist terrorists had gunned down 12 people in and around the Charlie Hebdo offices for publishing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.
Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, had published cartoons that depicted Muhammad, which is strictly prohibited in Islam. Offended by Charlie Hebdo’s actions, two Islamic terrorists had attacked the office of Hebdo in 2015 and had killed 12 people. The terrorists had stated that the attack was an act of revenge for depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Just last month, Charlie Hebdo had commemorated the beginning of the trial by publishing new cartoons of Muhammad. However, weeks later, four people were stabbed outside the former offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. The officers had said that the assault was another attempt to attack the newspaper’s journalists.
