Overview

• Zaheer Mahmood, a 29-year-old Pakistani national, attacked two individuals with a butcher's cleaver in September 2020, mistaking them for Charlie Hebdo staff.
• The attack occurred after Charlie Hebdo republished controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to mark the trial of the 2015 massacre at its offices.
• Mahmood was radicalized in France by extremist rhetoric and influenced by a Pakistani cleric who called for violent retribution against perceived blasphemers.
• Both victims survived the attack but suffered severe injuries, with one undergoing extensive rehabilitation and psychological recovery.
• Five accomplices, including some minors at the time, were also convicted of aiding Mahmood, receiving sentences ranging from 3 to 12 years.