Ten years after the 2015 terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, the trial of the man who was behind an attack outside the magazine's former offices in 2020 opened at a special juvenile court in Paris Monday.
Zaheer Mahmood thought he was attacking Charlie Hebdo employees, unaware that the magazine had moved after the 2015 attack.
Accused of attempted terrorist murder and conspiracy for his wounding of two people with a eat cleaver, Mahmood goes on trial Monday, along with five relatives who are suspected accomplices.
The trial is being held by a special juvenile court as three of the defendants were minors at the time of the attack, on 25 September 2020, in the midst of the trial for the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks.
The magazine, which had reprinted the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, which had made it a target for jihadists on 2 September, the opening day of the trial, had been receiving threats.
The day of the attack, Mahmood arrived in front of the building in Paris’ 11th district where the magazine used to have its offices.
Thinking he was attacking Charlie Hebdo employees, he struck two people outside with a meat cleaver, seriously injuring them.
During interrogations, Mahmood told investigators that he was angered by the republication of the Mohammed cartoons, whose publication had led to protests in Muslim countries, including his native Pakistan.
Investigators concluded that the attack was premeditated, as Mahmood had made several trips to the location, had purchased the weapon ahead of time, and had planned for the video broadcast of his claiming responsibility.
A search of phone and computer equipment at his hope identified five other defendants who had “motivated and supported him in his ideological development, which had become a violent spiral”.
A verdict is expected on 24 January, with Mahmood facing life in prison, with the other rive facing up to 30 years in prison.
(with AFP)
