Lawyers for Abdelhakim Sefrioui, an Islamist activist accused in the case, do not understand why the judiciary is not trying to catch this man who was in direct contact with the murderer of Samuel Paty.
He is overshadowing the investigation. What if Faruq Shami was the man who really ordered the murder of Samuel Paty? Officially, he is a blogger based in Syria, but he is the man to whom Abdullakh Anzorov, Samuel Paty’s murderer, first sent the photo of the teacher’s severed head on October 16, 2020, just moments after he had beheaded him in the streets of Conflans-Saint-Honorine. He also addresses his confessions to him in an audio message. Faruq Shami congratulates him warmly and replies with “Allahu akbar”.
According to information from BFMTV, however, neither a manhunt nor proceedings have been initiated against this Russian-speaking jihadist from Tajikistan. These circumstances raise questions among those familiar with the case.
On Wednesday July 28, 2020, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions against a terrorist fundraiser and recruiter who had provided material support to the Hay’et Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) organisation.
The recruiter and fundraiser was identified as Farrukh Furkatovitch Fayzimatov (alias Faruq Shami), a 26-year-old citizen of Tajikistan. In fact, he allegedly used social networks for his propaganda in favour of terrorism and organised fundraising campaigns to finance the activities of HTS involved in the Syrian civil war.