Chnina and Sefrioui’s lawyers request acquittal

After requisitions deemed too lenient by the civil parties, the lawyers of Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui pleaded for the acquittal of the two men who, according to the prosecution, launched “a digital fatwa” against Samuel Paty, assassinated by a young Chechen radical Islamist on October 16, 2020.

“There is no direct or indirect link between Abdelhakim Sefrioui and Abdoullakh Anzorov”the assassin of Samuel Paty shot shortly after the incident by the police, argued Wednesday morning Colomba Grossi, one of the Islamist preacher’s lawyers. “There is nothing terrorist about Brahim Chnina”pleaded Tuesday evening Nabil Ouchikli, one of the advisers of the father of the schoolgirl whose lie triggered the “hate campaign” against the history and geography teacher.

“What is the purpose of this trial? Is that the symbol? Is this making history? Is it repairing the victims? Is this appeasing public opinion? Please the media? Or is it judging Brahim Chnina?asked another of his advisors, Louise Tort. “He’s been apologizing, crying, peeing on himself for four years”continued the lawyer before deploring: “His excuses will never work, we don’t want them”.

10 and 12 years of criminal imprisonment required

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office requested on Monday 10 years of criminal imprisonment, with a two-thirds security period, against the Moroccan Brahim Chnina, 52, prosecuted for terrorist criminal association (AMT), as well as a ban on French territory ( ITF).

Against Abdelhakim Sefrioui, 65 years old, veteran of Islamist activism, founder of the (now dissolved) pro-Hamas association “Cheikh-Yassine Collective”also prosecuted for AMT, the prosecution requested 12 years of criminal imprisonment with also a two-thirds security period. AMT is punishable by 30 years of imprisonment.

“Too big for him”

In his box, Brahim Chnina, who looks much older than his age, seems to be huddled in on himself. “He is crushed by the horror of the crime too big for him”explains Me Tort. On October 7 and 8, 2020, Brahim Chnina published messages and videos denouncing Samuel Paty as a “sick”. He did not hesitate to provide the name of the professor and the address of his college on social networks.

Sefrioui reacted to his messages on the evening of October 7 and went with Brahim Chnina to the Conflans-Sainte-Honorine college (Yvelines) the next day to request sanctions against Samuel Paty. He himself published a video where the professor is described as “thug”. However, the two men’s lawyers noted, they did not know and never met Abdoullakh Anzorov. Therefore, the defense asks, can the offense of terrorist criminal association be applied against these two accused?

For the public prosecutor, the AMT accused of the two men is constituted because their digital campaign against Samuel Paty was “concerted” and constituted a “viral and violent targeting of the professor” even though the terrorist threat was revived by the republication of the caricatures of Mohammed by Charlie Hebdo, in September 2020, on the occasion of the opening of the trial of the January 2015 attacks against the editorial staff of the satirical weekly and the Hyper store Hide.