The report, based on an evaluation of 28-year-old Algerian national Sabri B., found no evidence of diminished judgment, psychosis, or coercion that could have impaired his behavior. The expert determined that the suspect was mentally sound, participatory and interactive, and capable of understanding and controlling his actions on the day of the attack.
Sarnaya, a 45-year-old Chaldean Syriac Assyrian refugee from Iraq, was stabbed to death on 10 September 2025 in Lyon while livestreaming on TikTok. Confined to a wheelchair, he had fled persecution in Iraq and was known for sharing Christian content online.
French prosecutors have classified the case as a murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, citing suspected links between the suspect and the Islamic State. The suspect has been charged with participation in a terrorist criminal organization.
The Assyria Post
Despite the psychiatric findings, the suspect has claimed he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the attack and did not intend to kill Sarnaya. He expressed regret during questioning but denied any Islamist radicalization.
The killing shocked Assyrian and Christian communities across France and abroad. Sarnaya is widely regarded as the first known victim from the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian community in France to be killed in an attack linked to Islamist terrorism.
The case continues to draw attention as it moves through the French judicial system, with the latest expert findings reinforcing prosecutorial arguments that the suspect should be held fully accountable.
