13 Jan 2015

Funeral ceremonies held for victims of Paris terror attacks

President Hollande salutes the police officers killed in terror attacks, as funeral ceremonies are held in Paris and Jerusalem and Charlie Hebdo prepares to publish an image of the prophet Mohammed.

Funeral ceremonies were held for seven victims of the Islamist attacks, in which 17 people were shot dead.

Twelve of those were killed at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which has decided to include an image of the Prophet Mohammed on the front page of its next edition, which is published on Wednesday.

The French president saluted the “courage, the bravery, the dignity” of Franck Brinsolaro, Ahmed Merabet and Clarissa Jean-Philippe, the three police officers killed last week. “They died so that we can live free,” he told mourners.

Four of the victims, Jews murdered at a kosher supermarket by Amedy Coulibaly, were buried in Jerusalem. Francois Hollande’s comments came as Bulgarian authorities said they had arrested a French citizen believed to have links to one of the Kouachi brothers, who carried out the Charlie Hebdo murders. Fritz-Joly Joachin, 29, was arrested under two European arrest warrants, one citing his alleged links to a terrorist organisation.

‘Tout est pardonne’

The Charlie Hebdo cartoon shows Mohammed with a tear streaming down his cheek, holding a sign reading “Je suis Charlie” – the phrase that millions across the world have rallied behind in support of the people who died in the Paris attacks.

Above the cartoon, the headline reads “Tout est pardonne” meaning “All is forgiven”.

Three million copies of the magazine are expected to be printed compared with a usual print run of around 60,000. Around 1,000 copies are reported to be bound for retailers in Britain. There will be an initial run of one million copies, the magazine’s publisher said, with the possibility to print a further two million.

The magazine will be translated into three languages – English, Spanish and Arabic.

However, a debate continues to rage over whether media organisations should publish satirical images of Mohammed.

A number of major media organisations, including the Guardian and French newspaper Liberation, have chosen to publish the Charlie Hebdo front cover.

Radical cleric Anjem Choudary said “repercussions” were inevitable following the release of the cartoon, which was “an act of war”. Mr Choudary, who was arrested in September as part of an investigation into Islamist terrorism, added: “And I’m sure there’s someone somewhere who will take the law into his own hands. It’s inevitable.”

At the weekend David Cameron told Channel 4 News that he “defends the right to offend”.

‘Snoopers’ charter’

On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said he “defends the right to offend”, but said said he was not sure if he would buy a copy of Charlie Hebdo.

Mr Clegg is expected to go on the offensive on Thursday, accusing the prime minister of promising to protect freedom of expression in the same breath as advocating “a huge encroachment on the freedom of all British citizens”.

Responding to plans to revive the communications data bill, dubbed the “snoopers’ charter”, Mr Clegg will say: “The irony appears to be lost on some politicians who say in one breath that they will defend freedom of expression and then in the next advocate a huge encroachment on the freedom of all British citizens.”

The bill, previously blocked by the Liberal Democrats, would extend the requirement on companies to retain phone and email data to include records – but not the content – of every individual’s internet browsing activity, including use of social media sites like Facebook, internet gaming, and mobile phone messaging services.

Mr Cameron has promised to revive the bill if the Conservatives win the general election.