Charlie Hebdo attack draws focus on freedom of speech
The French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has a long history of courting controversy.
The attack on a French satirical newspaper in which 12 people were killed by three armed gunmen in Paris on Wednesday has sent shockwaves across the globe and has widely been decried as an attack on freedom of speech.
The newspaper Charlie Hebdo has a documented history of courting controversy with its provocative and satirical takes on public and religious figures.
Minutes before the attack Charlie Ebdon had tweeted a cartoon of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi with the caption “Best wishes and good health.”
The attacks on the publication reportedly killed 12 people on Wednesday, including two police officers. Among those killed in the attack were Charlie Hebdo’s most famous cartoonists Stéphane Charbonnier, Georges Wolinski, Jean Cabut and Bernard Verlhac.
Defenders of freedom of speech like local cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro) and Man Booker Prize winning writer Salman Rushdie have condemned the attack, with Zapiro calling the attack the “worst attack on journalism, satirists, the press, and all free thinkers in society that we have seen in recent times.”
Twitter users also tweeted their support for the publication and condemned the attack using the hashtags #CharlieEbdo and #JeSuisCharlie, including a string of cartoons that paid tribute to those who were killed.
Can’t sleep tonight, thoughts with my French cartooning colleagues, their families and loved ones #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/LqIMRCHPgK
No Muslim person needs apologise for the #CharlieHebdo massacre. Murderers are responsible, not Islam! #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/mxBJ2VRdMz
One of the best #JeSuisCharlie cartoons I have seen so far by @RteeFufkin pic.twitter.com/VNMqFaJLxW
Very powerful images coming out this morning , none more so than this by @RealBanksy #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/Pj4Rnup7pr
Powerful & moving response from caroonists worldwide. Irony: Executed policeman is fellow Muslim #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/bUJKgmvvBP
— Dorothy Dalton (@DorothyDalton) January 8, 2015
