A Paris court of appeal has reduced the prison sentences of three men convicted over their roles in the jihadist terror attack that claimed the life of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty, a decision that has reignited anger among his family and drawn condemnation from conservative politicians.
Paty, 47, was beheaded on Oct. 16, 2020, outside his secondary school in Éragny-sur-Oise by 18-year-old Abdoullakh Anzorov, a Russian Islamist refugee of Chechen origin. The attacker, who carried out the killing after an online campaign of outrage over a classroom lesson on freedom of expression, was shot dead by police shortly after the attack.
In December 2024, a court sentenced seven men and one woman to prison for helping Anzorov obtain weapons or for spreading false accusations and inflammatory content that contributed to the climate that led to the murder.
Following an appeal, the court has now reduced the sentences of three of the convicted men.
Naim Boudaoud and Azim Epsirkhanov, who were found guilty of assisting Anzorov in acquiring the weapons used in the attack, will now serve six and seven years in prison, respectively, down from their initial 16-year sentence. It means they will effectively be released within months.
Brahim Chnina, the Moroccan father of a schoolgirl whose false claims about Paty circulated widely online prior to the attack, saw his sentence reduced from 13 years to 10 years. His daughter had alleged that Paty asked Muslim students to leave the classroom before showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed during a civics lesson, claims later shown to be untrue after it emerged the girl had not even been present in the class at the time.
Another defendant, Islamist activist Abdelhakim Sefrioui, received no reduction. His 15-year sentence was upheld in full.
The ruling prompted sharp criticism from figures on the French right. Marion Maréchal, a Member of the European Parliament, wrote on X, “Not a day goes by without the Justice system issuing an incomprehensible ruling. The collapse on appeal of the sentences for those who led to the beheading of Samuel Paty by the jihadist Anzorov is a catastrophe. All French people sympathize with the professor’s family, once again put to the test.”
NEW: 🇫🇷 Bernadette, the mother of the French teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded in a jihadist terror attack in 2020, slams the Paris appeal court for reducing the sentences of those involved in her son's murder.
"I am angry at this judgment. Very angry. They did not take… pic.twitter.com/rYhCpBx8cQ
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) March 3, 2026Paty’s mother, Bernadette, spoke to RTL France after the appeal decision, describing the lasting psychological toll on the family.
“We’re not coping well. We’re coping with medication, antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleeping pills. You see, for more than five years now, I feel that my husband and I have been dragging a ball and chain, one that is crushing us. And that ball and chain, instead of wearing down, is getting heavier and heavier,” she said.
“This morning, since last night, I feel as though a lead weight has fallen on our heads. I am angry at this judgment. Very angry. They did not take responsibility. And that is something I will never understand,” Bernadette added.
