 "France: Pakistani man who targeted Charlie Hebdo sentenced to 30 years in jail")
A Pakistani man was on Thursday (January 23) sentenced to 30 years in prison by a Paris court. The punishment was doled out to 29-year-old Zaheer Mahmood over his attempt to murder two people outside the former offices of Charlie Hebdo in 2020 with a meat cleaver.
The Pakistani origin man had arrived in France illegally in 2019.
When he carried out the attack, Mahmood wrongly believed the satirical newspaper which was targeted by Islamists a decade ago for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, was still based in the building, .
However, Charlie Hebdo had moved its office after two Al-Qaeda linked masked gunmen stormed its building and killed 12 people.
The 2015 killings had shocked France and triggered a fierce debate about freedom of expression and religion in the European nation.
Mahmood’s attack
On September 25, 2020, at around 11:40 am (1040 GMT), Mahmood arrived in front of Charlie Hebdo’s former address.
He attacked two employees of the Premieres Lignes news agency with a cleaver, seriously injuring them outside the building.
The court had earlier heard that Mahmood was influenced by radical Pakistani preacher Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who had called for the beheading of those deemed blasphemers.
Mahmood was convicted of attempted murder and terrorist conspiracy. The court also banned him from ever returning to French soil.
Five more Pakistanis tried in court
Five other Pakistani men, including some minors at the time of the attack, were tried alongside Mahmood on charges of terrorist conspiracy for supporting and encouraging his actions.
The Paris special assizes court for minors handed down sentences ranging from three to 12 years, along with bans on re-entering France for those who were adults. All six defendants were placed on France’s terror offenders’ list.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNeither Mahmood nor his co-defendants reacted to the verdict. Both victims attended the sentencing but declined to comment.
With inputs from agencies
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