PARIS, KOMPAS.com – Demonstration held throughout France to support Samuel Paty, guru who was decapitated after broadcasting Prophet Muhammad cartoon during lessons.
There was a standing ovation from the crowd at Place de la République in Paris, with people carrying the slogan “Je suis enseignant” (I am a teacher).
A man named Abdoulakh A was shot dead by police on Friday (16/10/2020) after killing Paty near his school, near Paris.
Currently, an 11th person has been arrested as part of the case investigation, reports from BBC on Sunday (18/10/2020).
No details were given about the arrests. The suspect’s four close relatives were detained shortly after murder occur.
Six more people were detained on Saturday, including the father of a student at the school and a preacher described by French media as an Islamist. radical.
Presiden Emmanuel Macron said the attack contained all the traits of “attack terrorist Islam“and her teacher was murdered because she” taught freedom of expression. “
Also read: The Family of the Beheading Teachers in France Apologize and Send their Condolences
Where are the protests taking place?
Place de la République in Paris is now full of people who banded together to support Paty. Prime Minister Jean Castex and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo joined them.
In the square 1.5 million people protested after the deadly 2015 attack on the office of a satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, after the Prophet Muhammad’s cartoon was published.
A protester on Sunday carried a sign reading “zero tolerance for all enemies of the Republic”. Others have written “I am a professor. I am thinking of you, Samuel.”
In addition, at Le Figaro there is also one Muslim The French filled the ranks among the protesters, who expressed disgust at the killing.
A minute’s silence is followed by the French national anthem, the Marseillaise. All protesters wear masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex posted the stanza of the national anthem, along with the words “You don’t scare us … we are France!”
Also read: 4 Facts About Teachers Beheaded in France for Showing Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad
In Lille, people carried banners and placards reading “I am Samuel”.
Thousands of people also gathered at Place Bellecour in Lyon to pay their respects, with another large number of protesters in Nantes.
Demonstrations are also held in Toulouse, Strasbourg, Marseille, Bordeaux and elsewhere.
Besides demonstration on Sunday, there will be a national honor presented by Paty (47 years), on Wednesday.
“A civilization doesn’t kill innocent people, like barbarism,” Tareq Oubrou, the imam of the mosque in Bordeaux, told France Inter on Saturday.
Laurent Nuñez, head of France’s counter-terrorism task force, told France Info radio that “the line has been crossed”. He condemned acts of “outrage” which constituted an attack on “freedom to teach”.
Also read: Circulating Photos of Abdoullakh Anzorov, 18-year-old Chechen Teenager Beheading Teacher in France
What happened on Friday?
Anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-François Ricard said that the suspect, who lives in the Normandy town of Évreux, about 100 km from the site of the murder, went to Paty’s school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on Friday afternoon and asked students to show the teacher.
Abdoulakh A, 18, born in Moscow from Chechnya, has no clear relationship with teachers or schools.
He followed Paty when he came home from work. The suspect used a knife to strike the teacher’s head, then beheaded him.
As the police approached Abdoulakh, he opened fire on them with an air rifle. Officers returned fire, hitting him nine times. A knife 30 cm long was found nearby.
Authorities say the man has been brought to court with other cases, but only charges of minor offenses.
Also read: Teacher’s Case in France Beheaded, Perpetrator Asked Samuel Paty to Show him
What’s new in the investigation?
Ricard said Paty had been the target of threats since she showed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during free speech classes in connection with the Charlie Hebdo case.
The trials of the 2015 attack on the magazine are currently underway.
As she has done in similar lessons in recent years, Paty, a history and geography teacher, advises Muslim students to turn away if they think it’s offensive.
The parents of one of the students reacted angrily, and went to school to complain.
He and another man who accompanied him, Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a preacher and activist, made a video calling Paty a “voyou” and demanded his postponement.
Sefrioui has reportedly been known to the French intelligence services for many years. Both he and his father are now in detention.
Also read: Identity of Beheaded Teacher in France Revealed, Liked by Students
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