Brahim Chnina, father of the schoolgirl at the origin of the outburst which led to the assassination of Samuel Paty, presented an apology before the special criminal court of Paris this Wednesday. But disputes the alleged facts.
At the trial for the assassination of Professor Samuel Paty on October 16, 2020, the Paris Special Assize Court heard Brahim Chnina, father of the schoolgirl who lied about Samuel Paty by falsely saying that she had been excluded for two days from the college for standing up to the professor she accused of having shown caricatures of Mohammed.
“I do not at all recognize the facts that I am accused of,” said the accused straight away, who faces 30 years in prison for criminal terrorist association. Just like. With Islamist activist Abdelhakim Sefrioui, 65, who is to be questioned on Thursday, Brahim Chnina is at the origin of the massive cyberharassment campaign which led to the assassination of the history and geography professor.
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“I am wise, I don’t like aggression”
This first interrogation of Brahim Chnina, 52, only focused on elements of his personality. His interrogation on the facts is scheduled for December 2. On the public benches, members of his family came in numbers in the hope of greeting him. From his box, Brahim Chnina smiles at them.
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“My family is everything. Since I have been incarcerated, I have lost quite a few friends but my family is still there,” the fifty-year-old will admit at the end of his interrogation. The personality survey depicts a man who “likes to take care of others” , concerned about the education of his six daughters.
“I am wise, I don’t like aggression,” says the accused, his head slightly tilted due to partial deafness. “Detention has been hell for me since this tragedy happened,” he complains. “After the attack against Mr. Paty, from whom I apologize (sic), there were rumors about me,” he continues in a victimizing tone.
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“I apologize to this poor teacher”
According to the prosecution file, he published videos the day after Samuel Paty's course on freedom of expression to stigmatize the professor and designate him as a target. Between October 9 and 13, Brahim Chnina had nine telephone contacts with Abdoullakh Anzorov, the killer of the teacher shot dead by police officers shortly after the incident.
However, Brahim Chnina assures the court today: “I respect teachers”. “I apologize to this poor professor who should never have died in these conditions,” he reiterates. “We are not here for excuses, we want explanations”, reframes Me Virginie Le Roy.
Not afraid of paradoxes, Brahim Chnina presents himself as a “victim of terrorism” by evoking the case of his sister who left for Syria after being “indoctrinated” by a jihadist whom he describes as a “thug”. “Thug” is the term that Brahim Chnina also used when he denounced Samuel Paty.
Eight people, involved to varying degrees in the attack, have been on trial since Monday until December 20.
