On Monday, six teenagers in Paris went on trial for their alleged roles in the beheading of a teacher, Samuel Paty, who had shown caricatures of the prophet of Islam to his class.

The killing, which occurred on October 16, 2020, near his school in a northwest Paris suburb, led authorities to reassert France’s fundamental principles of expression and secularism.

Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, was murdered by an 18-year-old of Chechen origin who had been radicalized.

The assailant was subsequently shot dead by the police, the Associated Press reported.

Paty’s identity was exposed on social media after a class discussion on free expression, during which he presented caricatures published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, known for a newsroom massacre by extremists in January 2015.

The trial, taking place at a Paris juvenile court, is conducted behind closed doors, as mandated by French law regarding minors.

The defendants, accompanied by their families, arrived at the court with their faces concealed behind masks and hoods, and their identities are protected by media restrictions.

Among the accused is a teenage girl, who, at the age of 13, is charged with making false allegations. She had wrongly claimed that Paty asked Muslim students to leave the classroom before showing the cartoons.

Subsequent investigations revealed her lie; she was not present in the classroom that day, and Paty did not make such a request, as reported by the AP.

The other five students, aged 14 and 15 at the time, face charges of criminal conspiracy with the intent of preparing aggravated violence.

They are accused of waiting for Paty for several hours, identifying him to the killer in exchange for promises of payments ranging from 300 to 350 euros ($348-$406).

Written by B.C. Begley