Mickaëlle Paty, the sister of Samuel Paty, a French teacher who was beheaded in 2020 by an extremist, expressed her anger following the arrest of Azim Epsirkhanov, a Chechen man linked to the assassination. Epsirkhanov was detained on August 28 at Parc Astérix in Plailly, Oise, while in a parking lot. He had previously violated his house arrest, which led to a one-year prison sentence. In 2024, during the initial trial of the Samuel Paty case, Epsirkhanov was sentenced to 16 years for "complicity" in the murder. He spent over five years in prison before being released in April 2024. In March, during the appeal trial, Epsirkhanov’s sentence was reduced to seven years for "association with criminals," and the court did not recognize the terrorist nature of his actions. The judges ruled that he was not aware of the terrorist plan carried out by the assassin, Abdoullakh Anzorov, even though he had accompanied him when he purchased the knife used in the beheading. Epsirkhanov has always maintained that he did not know the weapon’s purpose. After serving his sentence, he was placed in an administrative detention center for deportation but was released after 90 days with a house arrest order. He is now under an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF), though this has not yet been enforced, as he is challenging it in administrative courts. Epsirkhanov is required to remain in the Hauts-de-Seine region, where his girlfriend lives, until his deportation. Prosecutors from Senlis noted that he had left the department on eight other occasions, sometimes at night, and claimed he did not understand he was prohibited from leaving the Hauts-de-Seine. Mickaëlle Paty criticized this defense, recalling that during the appeal trial, Epsirkhanov celebrated the reduction of his sentence by telling a co-defendant, "It's over, brother." She found it hard to believe he was unaware of the terrorist plan and pointed out the large difference in the severity of the sentences between the two trials. Mickaëlle Paty viewed the repeated violations of Epsirkhanov’s house arrest as a new insult and believed her brother was abandoned after his death. She criticized the French justice system for showing "incomprehensible leniency" toward Epsirkhanov, claiming he mocks French law on the territory that welcomed him. Her words reflect a deep sense of injustice and frustration with the legal process that followed her brother’s tragic death.