Paty, a 47-year-old educator, was fatally attacked and beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen-origin assailant, Abdoullakh Anzorov, outside his school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris. The attack occurred after Paty showed his students caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson on free speech.

Anzorov, who had sought asylum in France, was swiftly killed by police following the murder. The trial commenced on Monday and is expected to last until December, with the accused comprising seven men and one woman. Among them, three individuals are under judicial oversight and face charges for participating in a "criminal terrorist act," a crime that carries a potential 30-year prison sentence.

One prominent figure in the trial is Brahim Chnina, a 52-year-old Moroccan and the father of a girl who falsely alleged that Paty had singled out Muslim students during his lesson. Chnina posted several videos on social media accusing Paty of misconduct, revealing Paty's identity and the school's name. Prosecutors argue that Chnina worked with Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a 65-year-old Franco-Moroccan activist, to incite hatred against Paty. Both men have been held in pre-trial detention for four years.

Chnina had numerous phone conversations with Anzorov between October 9 and 13, following the release of his accusatory videos. Sefrioui, meanwhile, posted a video denouncing Islamophobia in France and labeling Paty as a "teaching thug," although he claimed his intentions were solely to seek "administrative sanctions."

Two friends of Anzorov, Naim Boudaoud, 22, and Azim Epsirkhanov, 23, a Russian of Chechen origin, are charged with complicity in the terrorist murder, a crime that could result in life imprisonment. They allegedly accompanied Anzorov to purchase a knife the day before the attack, and Boudaoud is additionally accused of helping Anzorov acquire two replica guns and steel pellets on the day of the murder.

Additionally, four other defendants are charged with online interactions with Anzorov. Yusuf Cinar, a 22-year-old Turkish national, shared the Snapchat account of an armed group that later posted images of Paty's killing. Ismail Gamaev and Louqmane Ingar, both 22-year-old Russians of Chechen origin, communicated with Anzorov on a Snapchat group, with Gamaev posting an image of Paty's severed head adorned with smiley faces. Another individual, Priscilla Mangel, 36, described Paty’s class on the social platform X as part of a conflict against Muslims by France’s Republican institutions.

In the aftermath of the 2020 killing, the trial seeks to bring justice to the tragic events that unfolded three years ago, highlighting the persistent tensions surrounding freedom of expression in France.