Terrorist posted grisly photo online after beheading teacher
The teenager who beheaded a teacher outside a Paris school posted a photo of his body on his Twitter after the savage attack.
The attacker of Chechen origin, who has been named as suspected Islamist Aboulakh Anzorov, 18, filmed the moment he murdered Samuel Paty, 47, in broad daylight in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on Friday (local time) before sharing it with Chechen ISIS Telegram channels, according to The U.S. Sun.
The attacker is said to have asked students to identify the teacher before stabbing him with a kitchen knife.
A photograph of the teacher’s body, accompanied by a message claiming responsibility posted on Twitter, was discovered on Anzorov’s phone, found near his body.
Anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said on Saturday the Twitter account belonged to the attacker.
Mr Ricard quoted the message as saying: “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.”
Earlier this month Paty had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression, angering a number of Muslim parents. Muslims believe that any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.
Police have detained 11 people in connection with the killing.
Thousands of people take to streets in protest
Thousands of people gathered across France on Sunday (local time) to support teachers and defend freedom of expression after the slaughter of Mr Paty.
From Paris to Lyon, large crowds gathered quietly, pausing regularly to applaud, hold minutes of silence or sing the national anthem.
People wore masks to protect themselves against Covid while carrying signs such as “Teaching yes, bleeding no” or “I am Charlie” in a reference to satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, whose offices were attacked in a mass killing five years ago.
Prime Minister Jean Castex attended the gathering on Place de La Republique in Paris along with Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and politicians from across the spectrum, showing solidarity after a killing that has shocked the country.
“You don’t scare us. We are not afraid. You will not divide us. We are France!” Castex tweeted later.
Paty had been the target of an angry campaign on social media before he was killed.
The dad of a 13-year-old girl in Mr Paty’s class denounced the teacher online, branding him as a thug and encouraging the Muslim community to complain about his behaviour, The U.S. Sun reported.
Anzorov is believed to have seen the video. The dad has since been arrested.
Family members among those arrested
Anzorov had been living in the town of Evreux northwest of Paris, and was not previously known to the intelligence services, anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said.
Four close relatives of the attacker were detained soon after the attack.
Five more were detained overnight, including an acquaintance of the 13-year-old student’s dad known to the intelligence services, Mr Ricard said.
French authorities have since confirmed they have arrested a total of 11 people.
The half-sister of the student’s dad had joined Islamic State in Syria in 2014, the prosecutor said.
It was not immediately clear if the teenage attacker knew either the pupil’s father or the father’s acquaintance.
Muslim leaders condemned Friday’s killing, which many public figures perceived as an attack on the essence of French statehood and its values of secularism, freedom of worship and freedom of expression.
Deadly attacks by Islamist militants or their sympathisers was devastating for France’s Muslim community, Tareq Oubrou, the imam of a Bordeaux mosque, said.
“We are between hammer and anvil,” he told France Inter radio.
“It attacks the Republic, society, peace and the very essence of religion, which is about togetherness.”
with Reuters
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