On October 16, 2020, a heinous murder shocked France: in a suburb of Paris an 18-year-old Chechen stabbed history teacher Samuel Pati to death and then beheaded him. Why? Because in a class discussion about freedom of expression, Pati also showed the students caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which had previously been published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo – whose office was attacked in 2015 by two terrorists, killing 12 people, wanting to like Pati’s murderer, to “take revenge for the sake of the prophet”.

Shortly after his murder Patti the 18-year-old was killed by French police fire. In late 2023 a Paris court sentenced six minors to up to two years in prison for their collaboration in the attack. Eight adults are now on trial as possible accomplices.

Two men face life imprisonment. The alleged accomplices are accused of helping the perpetrator buy weapons or driving him to the scene of the crime. The remaining defendants, five men and one woman, are alleged to have been part of a terrorist group – an activity that carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years. They are also accused of encouraging the attacker or of planning to join the terrorist organization “Islamic State” in Syria.

A symbolic trial

According to Antoine Casumbolo Ferro, this is “the real trial of the Pati case”. The lawyer, who hopes that the accused will be punished with heavy sentences, is representing 12 of Pati’s fellow teachers, a lady who works at the school’s reception, as well as the French Association of Victims of Terrorist Attacks (AFVT).

“France needs this trial because it reminds us of an attack against a symbol,” Fero told DW. The attacker “killed a history teacher, who represented our education system, our values, the secular character of our country.” In France there is a strict separation of state and church, while religious symbols have been banned in schools, as well as the pursuit of conversion of students to one religion. This secular character of the French education system is inextricably linked to freedom of thought – not even blasphemy is punished.

Vincent Brongar represents a defendant considered by the French secret service to be an Islamic activist. The particular defendant had taken and published a video together with another of the defendants in front of Pati’s school, claiming that the teacher had insulted the Prophet Muhammad. “Courts should just apply our laws and not control the minds of citizens,” Brongar told DW. “The case file shows that the perpetrator had never seen the video of my client – and the terrorist had already identified Pati.” France would set a dangerous precedent in the event of a conviction. “In this trial, someone could be convicted for the first time for membership in a terrorist group, simply because they believe in different values,” the lawyer emphasizes.

French legislation is becoming increasingly strict

Michaela-Alexandra Tudor, professor of media, politics and religion at Paul-Valéry University in Montpellier, sees the trial as an opportunity for reckoning. “Since the 2000s there have been many new anti-terror laws, and in 2021 a law was introduced that strengthened the secular character of the state through a stricter separation of state and church,” he explains to DW. “However, people don’t particularly notice this. According to polls, religious terrorism remains one of the biggest fears of the French – not least because it is no longer just about terrorist groups, but also about individual perpetrators, whom the authorities find more difficult to stop in advance.”

The law on the secular character of the state also includes a provision directly related to the Pati case: threatening teachers is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 45,000 euros. In addition, the government promised to take measures to better protect teachers and organize training seminars to further target the strengthening of secularism.

Tensions in French schools, however, seem to continue – as recently as October 2023, an Islamist stabbed teacher Dominique Bernard.

Teachers feel insecure

Christophe Nodin, a teacher in a suburb of Paris, feels that the authorities have abandoned him. “We once did a training seminar on secularism, but otherwise we have not noticed anything about the new measures – at the same time the government is announcing that it will cut 4,000 jobs in the education sector,” the teacher told DW.

Noden feels that he identifies with Pati. Not only because he is a history teacher himself, but because he himself has experienced a terrorist attack: the one in 2015 at the Bataclan, where three Islamists killed 90 people.

The teacher hopes that this trial will make some people reevaluate their behavior. How the media will cover such phenomena more extensively, they will write about the role of social media and some parents, but also about the authorities, who often react with a long delay. “Then people will see that we didn’t have to go this far,” says Noden.

The decision is expected to be announced on December 20.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas