**French Court Sentences Eight for Hate Campaign Linked to Teacher’s Beheading**

**A French court delivered sentences ranging from three to 16 years to eight individuals whose hate-filled actions culminated in the fatal beheading of educator Samuel Paty in October 2020.**

A French court has imposed prison sentences on eight individuals for their significant roles in the hate campaign that led to the heinous murder of Samuel Paty, a schoolteacher, in October 2020. The court's sentences ranged from three to 16 years in relation to actions tied to an online vitriol surge against Paty.

Paty, a history and geography teacher at a secondary school in Conflans-Saint-Honorine, was brutally killed after being targeted by false social media claims. These unfounded accusations alleged that he had shown obscene images of the Prophet Muhammad during a class about freedom of speech. The perpetrator, Abdoullakh Anzorov, was influenced by the vitriolic online narrative, which depicted Paty as having forced Muslim students to leave his classroom prior to the instructional moment that involved the controversial images.

In reality, Paty was conducting an educational lesson on the principles of free expression and had thoughtfully advised students to avert their gaze should they find the material offensive. Tragically, Anzorov killed the 47-year-old educator and was subsequently shot dead by police just moments after the crime.

This ruling underscores the court's effort to hold accountable those whose inflammatory rhetoric contributed to such a tragic outcome, serving as a reminder of the dangerous impact of hate speech in the digital age.