France Teacher Killing: Pupil’s Father in Contact with The Killer
Paris: The father of a pupil accused of launching an online campaign against Samuel Paty, the teacher beheaded in France, sent messages to the killer before the attack, French media report.
Mr Paty, who was killed on Friday, had earlier shown controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.
The 48-year-old father, who has not been officially named, is accused of issuing a "fatwa" against the teacher.
The brutal murder of Mr Paty, 47, has shocked France.
Tens of thousands of people took part in rallies across France at the weekend to honour him and defend freedom of speech. A silent march was held on Tuesday evening in the suburb north-west of Paris where he was killed.
A man named as 18-year-old Abdoulakh A was shot dead by police after killing Mr Paty on Friday.
The father of the pupil is reported to have exchanged a number of text messages with Mr Paty's killer prior to the attack close to the teacher's school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
He is accused, along with a preacher described by French media as a radical Islamist, of calling for Mr Paty to be punished by issuing a so-called "fatwa" (considered a legal ruling by Islamic scholars).
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the two men had been arrested and were being investigated for an "assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise".
Police launched a series of raids targeting Islamist networks on Monday, and some 40 homes were targeted.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the Sheikh Yassin Collective - an Islamist group named after the founder of the Palestinian militant group Hamas - would be outlawed for being "directly involved" in the killing.
He said the ban was a way of helping France's Muslim community, Europe's largest, from the influence of radicalism.
The group's leader is among 16 people who were taken into custody in the aftermath of the murder.
Six have now been released after questioning including the killer's grandfather, parents and 17-year-old brother. Four school students are believed to remain in detention.
Mr Darmanin earlier said 51 French Muslim organisations, including charities and NGOs, would be inspected by government officials and closed down if they were found to be promoting hatred.
He said police would also be interviewing about 80 people who were believed to have posted messages in support of the killing.
The Pantin mosque, which has about 1,500 worshippers and is situated just north of Paris, will close for six months on Wednesday. The mosque expressed "regret" over the videos, which it has deleted, and condemned the teacher's killing.
