Assyrian Christian Critic Murdered in France: Free Speech Fears Rise
Ashur Sarnaya, a Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian man with special needs, was fatally attacked during a live social media broadcast in Lyon, France, on September 10, 2025. The assailants, who remain unidentified, stabbed Sarnaya in the neck before fleeing the scene, prompting an ongoing police investigation. Sarnaya, a vocal critic of Islamist groups on social media, had received death threats and sought refuge in France after fleeing ISIS in Iraq. Authorities are investigating the motive behind the attack, considering various possibilities, while the case has drawn comparisons to the killing of another Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian activist, Salwan Momika.
John Q. Hosedrinker