Activist Indicted in French Teacher’s Beheading Case, Lawyer Claims Misplaced Focus

Abdelhakim Sefrioui "knew nothing" of the terrorist plan of the young Chechen, Abdoullah Anzarov, who assassinated the history teacher in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, his lawyer said. The lawyer presumes that it would be better "to look for those who indoctrinated the terrorist, and who incited him to act". The investigation of this case "is only interested in the second-rate players, in simple accomplices, while the danger is elsewhere," the lawyer said.

To recall, Abdelhakim Sefrioui is one of the nine people held in custody in the case of the murdered professor. He had accompanied the student’s parent who had complained about the teacher’s behavior at the school. He also took part in the mobilization against the teacher and posted a video on social media. However, his lawyer indicated that, for the moment, nothing proves that it is the video broadcast that is at the origin of the act of the terrorist. "He certainly didn’t need that to kill him," the lawyer stressed. This is also the line of defense presented by the student’s father who had posted the video, the same source specified.