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Father of pupil texted teacher killer before beheading: reports

The father of a pupil at the school where teacher Samuel Paty had shown cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a lesson on civic rights had exchanged mobile phone text messages with the teacher's killer before the attack in a north-west Paris suburb, according to reports on Tuesday.

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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 according to French media, reports BBC News.

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 the country on Sunday to honour him and defend freedom of speech.

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, a north-western suburb of Paris.

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 have been arrested and are being investigated for an "assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise", French media report.

Read more of this report from BBC News.