Ashur Sarnaya, a 45-year-old disabled Kurdistani Chaldean Catholic, was fatally stabbed outside his Lyon apartment while livestreaming about his faith on TikTok.

Originally from Ankawa in the Kurdistan Region's Erbil, Sarnaya had fled ISIS persecution and lived legally in France for a decade. Known for sharing Christian prayers and songs online, his final moments were captured and circulated on social media.

French Christian organizations and political figures condemned the murder, with some calling it a hate crime linked to his public religious expression. Archbishop Olivier de Germay urged peace through prayer and dialogue, while others demanded justice and rallied against rising “Christianophobia.”

The attacker remains unidentified, and the investigation is ongoing. Sarnaya is mourned as a martyr by his community, which includes thousands of Assyrian-Chaldean Christians who sought refuge in France after the rise of ISIS.