A 13-year-old student has admitted to spreading a false story about French history teacher Samuel Paty – sparking a horrific series of events that led to his beheading last year, reports said Tuesday.
The girl, whose name was not released, admitted that she had ‘lied’ about a classroom incident at the school west of Paris to please her father, the Independent reported.
She originally claims that Paty (47) asked Muslim students to leave the class before showing them cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed during a class on free speech.
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A French police officer stands next to a portrait of French teacher Samuel Paty that can be seen on the façade of the Opera Comedie in Montpellier on October 21, 2020 during a national tribute to the teacher who was beheaded for drawing the sign of the Prophet Mohamed in his bourgeoisie. (Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP) (Photo by PASCAL GUYOT / AFP via Getty Images)
The girl apparently told her father that she was then suspended for two days after she challenged the teacher because he sent Muslim students into the hall while he was showing the blasphemous image.
Her fib caused her father to file a legal complaint against the teacher, which launched a social media campaign, reports the BBC.
Setbacks grew against Paty, as depictions of Mohammed were banned in Islam – and considered offensive by Muslims.
Ten days later, the teacher was beheaded by an 18-year-old man, Abdullakh Anzorov, who was later shot dead by police.
But it now emerged that the girl was not even in class at the day of the alleged incident at school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
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The girl was apparently suspended the previous day because she did not attend class and did not want her father to know about the punishment, reports the French newspaper Le Parisien.
Her lawyer confirmed Monday that the girl was not in class, but claims it was the day she was sick.
“She lied because she felt trapped in a spiral because her classmates asked her to be a spokesperson,” her lawyer, Mbeko Tabula, told Agence France-Presse.
However, her lawyer argued that the father should be blamed for the failure due to his ‘excessive and excessive behavior’, reports the Independent.
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The girl is charged with libel while her father was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a terrorist murder.