Christian in wheelchair killed while livestreaming his faith in France 

 

Lyon, France, Sep 12, 2025 / 17:04 pm (CNA).

A 45-year-old Iraqi Christian who fled his homeland to escape Islamist persecution was stabbed to death in Lyon in southern France on the evening of Sept. 10.

He was reportedly livestreaming a video on TikTok in which he spoke about his faith. The attack has shocked local Christian communities and drawn calls for clarity on the motives behind the killing.

According to local newspaper Le Progrès, the victim, identified as Ashur Sarnaya — who was disabled and used a wheelchair — was returning to his apartment building when a man, apparently waiting for him, struck him in the neck with a knife. Emergency services, alerted shortly before 10:30 p.m., found him in cardiac arrest and were unable to revive him.

Born in 1979, Sarnaya had lived in the building with his sister for more than a decade after fleeing the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq in 2014. Neighbors described him as “a vulnerable person who didn’t walk and never caused any trouble.”

An anti-Christian murder?

Relatives told local media that Sarnaya, an Assyrian Christian, regularly hosted live sessions on TikTok in the evenings in which he spoke about Christianity. In a video clip that was still circulating online the following morning, he appeared with his face covered in blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

“He was a normal person. He did live videos on TikTok to spread the word of God. He had no enemies, no problems with anyone,” his sister told RMC-BFM Lyon, recounting how she was alerted by friends who were watching the livestream at the moment of the attack. “When I arrived, he was dead. He was on the ground, there were lots of people, the police, the firefighters.”

On his social media accounts, Sarnaya often shared testimonies of faith in Arabic. In one post cited by Aleteia France, he complained that his content was frequently blocked or suspended due to reports from Muslim users. In March, he claimed to have been physically attacked by Muslims.

The president of the Assyro-Chaldean Association of Lyon, Georges Shamoun Ishaq, told the Catholic media that Sarnaya was “a very kind, discreet person, deeply believing, who liked to speak about the Christian faith.”

The Lyon prosecutor’s office has opened a homicide investigation, entrusted to the Division of Organized and Specialized Crime. At this stage, investigators are not prioritizing any hypothesis — whether criminal, political, religious, or drug-related. AFP reportedly received a video footage of a man in dark clothing and a hood leaving the scene, identified as the presumed attacker.

Catholic organizations respond

Catholic organizations in France have expressed strong concern. Œuvre d’Orient condemned “with the greatest firmness the murder of a vulnerable Iraqi Christian,” stressing that “it is essential that Christians of the Middle East be able to witness to their faith in safety and live with dignity.”

SOS Chrétiens d’Orient recalled that Sarnaya had fled the persecution of ISIS in Iraq. “It is unimaginable that a Christian who fled persecution should be murdered in France,” the organization stated, calling for prayers for the repose of his soul and for his family.

Family members also paid tribute to Sarnaya on social media. One cousin described him as a martyr on Facebook: “He was preaching live when his life was tragically taken,” the post read, adding that his faith would always remain an inspiration.

Reactions from political leaders have so far been limited. Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-wing party Rassemblement National, claimed on X that Sarnaya “was savagely stabbed to death in Lyon by an Islamist. While granting asylum to the persecuted is legitimate, our uncontrolled immigration policy now leads us to welcome their executioners.”

Lyon-based influencer Verlaine, also paid tribute to the victim on X, highlighting his noticeable presence on social media, “where he shared above all his Catholic faith…,” suggesting that it was the reason why he was killed. “Rest in peace, Sir,” he wrote.

Relentless rise of anti-Christian acts in France

The killing of Sarnaya comes against a backdrop of growing concern over anti-Christian incidents in France. Advocacy groups have repeatedly warned of a rise in acts targeting churches, cemeteries, and believers over the past years.

On Aug. 7, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau asked prefects to reinforce protection of Christian places of worship, particularly around the feast of the Assumption. According to official figures, 401 anti-Christian acts were recorded between January and June, an increase of 13% compared with the same period in 2024. Vandalism and desecration of churches account for the majority of these attacks.

Earlier this week, on Sept. 8, a statue of the Virgin and Child was deliberately set on fire during Mass at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours in Guingamp (Brittany). The same statue had already been targeted by arson in 2015 and 2021.

On July 25, the Notre-Dame des Champs church in Paris’ sixth arrondissement was also the target of an arson attack. A year ago, the arson attack that devastated a historic church in northern France had already caused a wave of national emotion.

The relative lack of media coverage given to anti-Christian acts, which number in the hundreds each year, has fueled concerns among Catholic observers that this phenomenon may worsen if not addressed with greater seriousness.