Involved in a Charlie Hebdo documentary: two journalists wounded in knife attack

Friday, September 25, 2020

There is a knife attack near the former editorial office of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”. Two journalists are seriously injured. He was involved in a documentary about the attacks in 2015. The main culprit is apparently only 18 years old.

Two journalists were injured in a knife attack in central Paris. His life is not in danger, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said near the crime scene. At first there were four people injured. The Paris counter-terrorism prosecutor has launched an investigation. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin spoke on France 2 of a “clearly Islamist act of terrorism. This is a new bloody attack against our country.” The two alleged perpetrators have been arrested.

According to the information, one of the detainees is an 18-year-old who was captured shortly after the crime. Researchers consider him the “main culprit.” They accuse him of assaulting the two journalists with a knife.

According to initial findings, the 18-year-old was born in Pakistan. According to media reports, the police should already know him for other crimes. A second man in police custody is 33, according to the prosecutor. His possible relationship to the main culprit is still unclear.

Journalists filmed documentaries about attacks

The attack took place in the vicinity of the old newsroom of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”. In January 2015, they were among the targets of a series of attacks that lasted for several days, in which a total of 17 people died. The terrorist network Al-Qaeda recently threatened a new attack after the magazine republished the Mohammed cartoons.

The injured journalists were reportedly working for the production company “Premières Lignes”, which participated in a documentary about the attacks on “Charlie Hebdo”. “Three Days Of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks” is the name of the documentary that was produced for the American network HBO, the British BBC and the French network France 2. Witnesses, policemen and survivors speak in the film about the horror series, as it says on the “Premières Lignes” website.

The production company’s office is in the immediate vicinity of the former “Charlie Hebdo” editorial office, which was moved to a secret location after the attack.

The editorial team works in a secret place

A witness told the AFP news agency that the victims were a man and a woman. They were “seriously injured,” he said. A woman added: “The two of them smoked a cigarette in front of the building. Then I heard screams. I went to the window and saw one of my colleagues covered in blood. A man was following him with a knife,” said the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous.

There were two Islamists in the attack on January 7, 2015. he entered the editorial office of the satirical magazine and opened fire. Eleven people were murdered, including famous cartoonists Stéphane Charbonnier (Charb), Jean Cabut (Cabu) and Georges Wolinski. They then killed a police officer while fleeing. A three-day manhunt began, including the taking of hostages at a Jewish supermarket. Islamists were shot while trying to escape and al Qaeda claimed responsibility in Yemen.

The trial of 14 potential sponsors is currently underway in Paris. It is said that he supported the two Islamists. At the start of the proceedings in early September, the satirical newspaper had republished the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, making the newspaper a target. Among other things, they show the prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb instead of a turban. Since the attack, the editorial team has been working under police protection in a secret location.