Demonstrators rally in support of free speech after teacher killing

DEMONSTRATIONS HAVE been held in France in support of freedom of speech and to pay tribute to a history teacher who was beheaded near Paris after discussing caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed with his class.

Samuel Paty was decapitated on Friday by an 18- year- old Moscowborn Chechen refugee, who was later shot dead by police. He was armed with a knife and an airsoft gun, which fires plastic pellets.

Political leaders, associations and unions rallied yesterday afternoon in Paris and other major cities including Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nantes, Marseille, Lille and Bordeaux.

The gatherings came as French authorities said they have detained a 10th person following the attack in Conflans- SainteHonorine, north- west of Paris.

French anti- terrorism prosecutor Jean- Francois Ricard said an investigation for murder with a suspected terrorist motive has been opened.

At least four of those detained are family members of the attacker, who had been granted a 10- year residency in France as a refugee in March.

His half- sister joined the Islamic State group in Syria in 2014, Mr Ricard said. He did not give her name, and it is not clear where she is now.

The prosecutor said a text claiming responsibility and a photograph of the victim were found on the suspect’s phone.

He also confirmed that a Twitter account under the name Abdoulakh A belonged to the suspect. The account was used to post a photo of the decapitated head minutes after the attack along with the message “I have executed one of the dogs from hell who dared to put Muhammad down”.

France’s prime minister joined demonstrators yesterday and the attack provoked condemnation from US President Donald Trump who called it a “vicious, vicious Islamic terrorist attack”.