The last image we had of him was that of this angry father who filmed himself in front of a college in the Paris region. A man who virulently denounced a professor “thug” who had asked Muslim students to leave class before showing a « photo » of the prophet “all naked”.“This thug must no longer remain in national education”, added this father, outraged that his daughter had been excluded for refusing to leave class. It was October 8, 2020, fourteen days before the assassination of Samuel Paty by a radicalized Islamist.
“I am wise, I am very patient, I don’t like aggression. I don't even know what aggression is.” Brahim Chnina said today in a calm voice. More virulence, more anger. He's a man “stressed” and uncomfortable who speaks this Wednesday, November 6 before the special assize court of Paris. “ It hurts me to see Mr. Paty's family. I apologize to this poor professor who should never have died in these conditions”murmurs Brahim Chnina, while claiming not to recognize the facts with which he is accused.
An angry father
This is characteristic of all assize trials. Before delving into the facts, the court examines the personality of the accused. This Wednesday morning, it is the life of Brahim Chnina which is scrutinized. A much awaited moment. Because this father played an important role in the process that led to the death of Samuel Paty. It was he who, on October 8, 2020, came to show his anger in front of the Bois d'Aulne college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in the company of an Islamist activist, Abdelhakim Sefrioui. It was also and above all he who broadcast the first video designating Samuel Paty as a target.
The next day, October 9, Brahim Chnina received a phone call lasting 1 minute and 21 seconds from a man who had obviously seen this video: a resident of Évreux, Abdoulakh Anzorov, the future assassin of Samuel Paty. During the investigation, Brahim Chnina said he had no memory of this short conversation but assured that he never wanted to trigger violence against Samuel Paty. His only goal was for him to be excluded from national education, added this father then deceived by his daughter's lie: she was in fact absent from the class during which Samuel Paty had presented caricatures from Charlie Hebdo.
A man with two sides
But before talking about the facts, Brahim Chnina is therefore invited to talk about himself. Of his departure from Morocco for France in 1977 when he was 7 years old. From his childhood dream of becoming “airline pilot” or to study for a long time. “In the end, I didn’t have the chance to pass the baccalaureate,” he confides, before discussing his various “odd jobs” in helping people at home “ill or with reduced mobility”. A man with two sides. On the other hand, there is this conviction in 2001 to eight months of imprisonment for drug trafficking between Spain and France. Then in 2002, a new sentence of 6 months in prison for having threatened to kill a social worker. “I had a misunderstanding with her. I spoke to him badly, it's true. »
But on the other hand, there are also these numerous testimonies, collected during the investigation, on the kindness of the accused, on his ” dedication “ extreme for his family, on the attention he gave to one of his brothers suffering from a rare disease. A “daddy hen” also for the six daughters he had with his partner “strong character” with whom relations were sometimes stormy. Regularly, the “time for things to calm down”, Brahim Chninia went to live with his mother or his aunt and then followed his daughters' schooling from a little distance. “It was my wife who was in contact with the teachers,” he admits, without denying the assertion that no one at the college knew him before he showed up this morning of October 8, 2020 to rail against this professor “thug”.
All the testimonies also converge to underline the religious practice “moderate” by Brahim Chnina and his lack of rigor or radicalization. At one point, the accused even says he was ” victim “ of terrorism, which raises eyebrows among some lawyers on the side of the civil party. He then talks about his ” suffering “ when in 2014 one of his young sisters, mentally deficient, left for Syria. “She was indoctrinated by the Internet. She fell in love with someone who made beautiful promises to her. He promised her heaven, he took her back to hell. He managed to brainwash her. No one is radicalized in the family,” says Brahim Chnina who, at the time, reported this departure to the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI).
Although not very present in monitoring his daughters, Brahim Chinia claims to have taught them “respect for teachers”. “If one day my daughter told me that she had been punished following a problem with a teacher, I would agree with the teacher,” he says, without knowing how all this may be felt by those close to Samuel Paty sitting in the front row of the public. Just an indirect clue through a short exchange between the accused and Virginie Leroy who defends the parents and one of the teacher's sisters. “I apologize to the Paty family”says Brahim Chnina. “We don't need your apologies. the lawyer immediately replies. We need your explanations. »
