Charlie Hebdo Research Paper

On Wednesday January 7th, a group of masked gunmen shot and killed 12 people at Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper. Top journalists and police officers were among those killed. Four prominent cartoonists were killed, who have drawn cartoons which made fun of Islamic terrorists and the Prophet Muhammad.

This is not the first time Charlie Hebdo has been attacked. In 2011 the magazine was a victim to a firebomb attack which destroyed their offices, shortly after satirically naming Muhammad as one of its editors.

In this month’s attack, the two gunmen forced their way into the Charlie Hebdo office and shot a security guard who was sitting at the welcome desk. They then made their way upstairs and into the editorial room looking for Stéphane Charbonnier, the head of the newspaper. They found him in a meeting with a dozen journalists which included the top cartoonists. Witnesses said that the gunmen claimed to be from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and spoke French fluently.

The gunmen, two brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, were the sons of two Algerian immigrants.

They were born and raised in France. Chérif had been convicted of terrorism charges previously, serving three years in prison. Said had no criminal record, but is believed to have recently received terrorism training in Yemen.

After leaving the Charlie Hebdo office the gunmen hid in a printing factory north of Paris. They took the owner of the factory hostage briefly before releasing him. One of the employees hid in a cupboard for 8 hours and was able to relay information to the police about the gunmen’s movements on his cell phone. The police then raided the factory killing both Saïd and Chérif.

On Thursday January 8th there was an attack on a police officer in a suburb south of Paris. This attack was carried out by Amedy Coulibaly. Coulibaly had coordinated this attack with the Kouachi

brothers.

Coulibaly took hostages at a kosher market in Paris and demanded the release of the Kouachi brothers from the printing factory. The police raided the supermarket and Coulibaly was killed. Four of the hostages were found dead. A Muslim immigrant from Mali is credited with saving the lives of seven Jewish customers by hiding them in the market’s food locker.

The police are unsure about Coulibaly’s wife’s involvement in the attacks. It was at first believed that she acted as an accomplice in the attack on the kosher market, but it has since been revealed that she was in Turkey five days before the attack occurred. She may have been attempting to cross the border into Syria.

Charlie Hebdo released their new issue on January 14th. It includes drawings by both the surviving and the killed cartoonists. The cover carries a drawing of Muhammad shedding a tear. The issues are quickly selling out and they are still being printed.

The newspaper has since become a symbol for free speech. The slogan “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) is being adopted around the world.