
A Paris court sentenced a Pakistani man to 30 years in prison on Thursday for attempting to murder two people with a meat cleaver outside the former offices of Charlie Hebdo in 2020.
Zaheer Mahmood, 29, believed that the satirical newspaper’s offices were still housed in the building, which had been the site of a deadly attack by Islamist gunmen in 2015. At the time of the 2020 assault, Charlie Hebdo had already relocated following the massacre that killed 12 people, including eight editorial staff members. The 2015 attack was carried out by the Kouachi brothers, who targeted the magazine for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, sparking a global debate over freedom of expression and religion.
Mahmood, who arrived illegally in France from rural Pakistan in 2019, was influenced by radical preacher Khadim Hussain Rizvi, known for advocating violence against blasphemers. Mahmood was convicted of attempted murder and terrorist conspiracy. Upon completing his sentence, he will be banned from re-entering France.
In 2020, after Charlie Hebdo republished its controversial cartoons to mark the start of the trial related to the 2015 attack, Mahmood, urged by Rizvi to “avenge the Prophet,” attacked two employees of the Premieres Lignes news agency outside the former Charlie Hebdo office. Armed with a butcher’s cleaver, he seriously injured the victims.
Mahmood’s defense claimed that his actions were influenced by his disconnection from France and his upbringing in rural Pakistan. His lawyer, Alberic de Gayardon, argued that Mahmood had “never left Pakistan” in his mind, living within a community of Pakistanis and struggling with the cultural divide.
The 2015 attacks, which also included a hostage-taking at a Jewish supermarket, marked the beginning of a series of violent incidents in France, with extremists targeting civilians in the name of jihad.
Five others, including minors, were tried alongside Mahmood for terrorist conspiracy, with sentences ranging from three to 12 years. The victims, who were both present during the sentencing, did not comment on the outcome. One of the victims, known only as Paul, described the psychological toll of the attack, saying it “broke something within me.” Both victims have rejected Mahmood’s apologies.
Mahmood’s legal team has yet to decide whether they will appeal the ruling.