Four go on trial in Paris over extremist attack on priest

Father Jacques Hamel was murdered by two men who had pledged allegiance to ISIS

Father Jacques Hamel was murdered as he celebrated Mass in the small Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, France. AP

Four people have gone on trial in France over the murder of an 85-year-old priest by two men who claimed to be members of ISIS.

Father Jacques Hamel was leading morning prayers in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, in July 2016 when the two 19-year-old assailants, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean, stormed the church.

They forced Father Hamel to his knees, slit his throat and were shot dead as they attempted to flee.

Three men appeared in the dock at a Paris court on Monday on charges of conspiracy with terrorists. Prosecutors say they knew of the attackers' plan.

They claim Jean-Philippe Jean Louis, Farid Khelil and Yassine Sebaihia were all in contact with the assailants and Mr Jean Louis had travelled with Petitjean to Turkey only weeks before the attack in an attempt to reach Syria.

The three men deny the charges and their lawyers have described the defendants as “scapegoats”.

They each face up to 30 years in prison, however, with hearings scheduled for the next month.

The fourth defendant, Rachid Kassim, is being tried in absentia. Prosecutors accuse him of contacting the attackers from Syria and encouraged them to kill Father Hamel. Mr Kassim is believed to have been a prominent ISIS recruiter. Although he was targeted by a US air strike on Mosul, Iraq in 2017, his death has not been confirmed.

Guy Coponet, who was critically injured while being held hostage in the church, said he hoped for “justice to be done” for the men on trial as well as for the victims.

“If those who are responsible can ask forgiveness from all those who suffered, I think we will have won our day,” Mr Coponet, 92, said before entering the Paris courtroom, where he is expected to give evidence on Thursday.