how the special assize court motivated the convictions of Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui

This Wednesday, December 25, BFMTV had access to the motivations of the specially composed assize court, and in particular to the elements which encouraged it to declare Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui guilty of participation in a group formed or in an agreement established with a view to of the preparation of acts of terrorism.

The trial for the assassination of Samuel Paty ended with the sentencing of the eight accused to sentences ranging from one to 16 years in prison. This Wednesday, December 25, BFMTV had access to the motivations of the specially composed assize court, and in particular to the elements which encouraged it to declare Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui guilty of participation in a group formed or in an agreement established with a view to of the preparation of acts of terrorism.

Brahim Chnima, 52, is the father of the schoolgirl who relayed lies about Samuel Paty. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison for participation in a terrorist criminal association.

Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a 65-year-old preacher, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for participation in a terrorist criminal association.

“Perfect conscience of the two accused”

The special assize court bases part of its judgment on the context of the year 2020, recalling the “perfect awareness of the two accused of the ideological and criminal context, resulting from the dissemination of religious caricatures, the injunctions to pass to the murderous act broadcast by terrorist organizations and the attack committed in front of the former Charlie Hebdo premises on September 25, 2020.

As a reminder, a man attacked and injured two people with a chopper in front of the former premises of the satirical newspaper.

Secondly, the specially composed Assize Court recalls that the two men contest the facts with which they are accused. “Brahim Chnina, who does not show signs of religious radicalization, denies any guilt in the facts with which he is accused, and explains that he simply wanted to alert people to the situation of his daughter,” said the special assize court about the father of the schoolgirl who had lied about the content of Samuel Paty's course.

As for Abdelhakim Sefrioui, if “the investigations show that he is known to have belonged to the radical Islamist movement… There is no evidence to place Mr. Sefrioui in a process of violent radicalization. The latter considers himself to be completely unrelated to the facts which led to the beheading of Samuel Paty, his video not having been consulted by the killer with whom he had absolutely no contact”, summarize the specialist magistrates.

However, the court considers that “the judicial information and the debates demonstrated the existence of material facts attesting that Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui acted in concert, with a view to preparing the conditions favoring, then leading to, the transition to the Anzorov's act.”

The two men appeal

Then, the special assize court details in its judgment the different elements that it accuses of Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui. By broadcasting messages and videos, by revealing the identity of Samuel Paty, by going to the college or by filing a complaint against the professor, the two men “took the risk, despite the danger and the threats targeting Samuel Paty, that “a voluntary attack on one's physical integrity is carried out by a violent and radicalized third party”, considers the court.

“They prepared the conditions for the commission of a terrorist offense by revealing the identity of Samuel Paty, by targeting him on social networks and thus, knowingly, agreed to associate, in fact, with one or more individuals likely to commit an offense of a terrorist nature”, concluded the special assize court.

The national anti-terrorism prosecution had requested sentences of 10 and 12 years of criminal imprisonment respectively against Brahim Chnina and Abdelhakim Sefrioui. The specially composed assize court finally sentenced them to 13 and 15 years in prison. The two men, via their lawyers, appealed the decision, revealed BFMTV.

“The decision rendered at first instance is a deeply political message,” declared on BFMTV Me Vincent Brengarth, lawyer for preacher Abdlehakim Sefrioui, this Wednesday, December 25.