Six French teenagers accused of being involved in the gruesome murder of a teacher are set to go to trial today.
The children were aged between 13 and 15 at the time of the killing of their teacher Samuel Paty in Paris in 2020.
They are accused of criminal conspiracy with intent to cause violence by pointing out the victim to the killer in school and making false accusations about him.
They have since said they had no clue it would lead to his murder.
The 47-year-old history teacher was stabbed and then decapitated near his secondary school in Paris by Abdoullakh Anzorov, a radicalised Chechen migrant.
Anzorov, who was shot dead by police on the scene, killed Paty after rumours spread he had shown his classes cartoons of the prophet Muhammad from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
It was used to demonstrate ethics and to discuss free speech laws in France.
However, it stirred up controversy with many believing it wasn’t appropriate to be shown in schools.
The teenagers will be tried in juvenile court today, with one suspect, a girl just 13 at the time, seen as central to the investigation.
She is accused of making false accusations, wrongly stating that Paty asked Muslim students to identify themselves and leave the classroom before he showed the cartoon.
She later told investigators she was not in the classroom that day, with witnesses saying he had not asked pupils to leave but said they could turn away if they felt uncomfortable with the images.
The suspects, now teenagers in high school, could face up to 2.5 years in jail.
Eight adults will face a different trial next year including the girl's father who is accused of posting videos on social media calling to mobilise against the teacher.
