“We will never give up”: Charlie Hebdo says republishing Prophet Cartoon


PTI, Sep 1, 2020, 5:32 PM IST

Paris: French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, the target of a massacre by Islamist gunmen in 2015, said Tuesday it was republishing hugely controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed to mark the start of the trial this week of alleged accomplices in the attack.

“We will never lie down. We will never give up,” its director Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau wrote in an editorial to go with the republication of the cartoons in its latest edition.

Twelve people, including some of France’s most celebrated cartoonists, were killed on January 7, 2015, when brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi went on a gun rampage at the paper’s offices in Paris.

The perpetrators were killed in the wake of the massacre but 14 alleged accomplices in the attacks, which also targeted a Jewish supermarket, will go on trial in Paris on Wednesday.

The cover of the latest Charlie Hebdo issue shows a dozen cartoons first published by the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005 — and then reprinted by Charlie Hebdo in 2006 — which unleashed a storm of anger across the Muslim world.

In the centre of the cover is a cartoon of the prophet drawn by its cartoonist Jean Cabut, known as Cabu, who lost his life in the massacre.

“All of this, just for that,” the front-page headline says.

Its editorial team wrote that now was the right time to republish the cartoons, saying it was “essential” as the trial opens.

“We have often been asked since January 2015 to print other caricatures of Mohammed,” it said.

“We have always refused to do so, not because it is prohibited — the law allows us to do so — but because there was a need for a good reason to do it, a reason which has meaning and which brings something to the debate.”

The paper’s willingness to cause offence has made it a champion of free speech for many in France, while others believed it crossed a line too often.

But the massacre united the country in grief with the slogan #JeSuisCharlie (I Am Charlie) going viral.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Drugs worth Rs 6 crore seized in Bengaluru, five arrested

Siddaramaiah urges Nirmala Sitharaman to address NABARD’s loan cuts to farmers

Karnataka HC denies anticipatory bail to Prajwal Revanna in sexual harassment case

Delhi court stays defamation case against CM Atishi

Awards don’t create value for independent films in India: Manoj Bajpayee

Public Alert: Cyber fraudsters impersonating traffic police to demand fines

UP: 25 people booked for attacking civic officials for encroachment removal

Related Articles More

Bomb disposal squad tackles ‘security incident’ at UK’s Gatwick Airport

Baku climate talks: The ‘X’ factor that could determine future of Global South

India-US ties have strong foundation: White House confident in navigating crisis over Adani bribery charges

PM Modi leaves for home after concluding three-nation visit

China announces new policy measures to protect its exports from Trump’s new tariff threat

MUST WATCH

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar

Rose Cultivation

Geethotsava

Naxal Operation


Latest Additions

Air pollution: SC flags Delhi govt’s failure to implement GRAP-4 curbs on entry of trucks

Drugs worth Rs 6 crore seized in Bengaluru, five arrested

Siddaramaiah urges Nirmala Sitharaman to address NABARD’s loan cuts to farmers

Satwik-Chirag enter semifinals, Lakshya loses to Antonsen in China Masters

BJP stages protest against Congress govt in Karnataka over Waqf properties row

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.