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Following renewed threats from the Al Qaeda terrorist network against the French satirical newspaper “Charlie Hebdo”, around a hundred media outlets in France called for support for the newspaper and freedom of expression. In an open letter circulated on Wednesday, he said: “The enemies of freedom must understand that we are all determined opponents, regardless of our differences of opinion or beliefs.” In the last five years women and men have been killed by fanatics because of their origins or opinions.
The signatories of the letter include regional and national editorial offices, such as those of France Télévisions, “Le Parisien”, “La Voix du Nord”, “Le Journal du Dimanche” or “Charlie Hebdo”.
Threats after cartoons
The trial of 14 alleged assistants to the two assassins, who killed 12 people in an attack on the “Charlie Hebdo” newsroom in January 2015, including some of France’s most famous cartoonists, has been on trial since early September. At the start of the trial, the satirical magazine republished the Muhammad cartoons, making them the target of the Islamists.
According to experts, al-Qaeda later threatened another attack. Furthermore, the chief of staff of the satirical newspaper had to be transferred to safety after receiving death threats.
These threats went “far beyond Charlie” and affected “all the media and even the President of the Republic,” said “Charlie Hebdo” editor-in-chief Laurent Sourisseau. The letter was a “collective response” to the threats and a call to defend “freedom of expression and the liberty of all French citizens,” Sourisseau said. The letter is titled: “Let’s defend freedom together.”
