Charlie Hebdo Reprints Prophet Mohammed Cartoons as Trial Begins

The paper's willingness to cause offense over a range of controversial issues has made it a champion of free speech for many in France, while others argue it has crossed a line too often.

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But the massacre united the country in grief, with the slogan #JeSuisCharlie (I Am Charlie) going viral.

"A thousand bravos," Zineb El Rhazoui, a former journalist for the weekly, said on Twitter, calling the republication of the cartoons a victory "for the right to blasphemy".

The former director of Charlie Hebdo, Philippe Val, also hailed a "remarkable idea" for defending the freedom of thought and expression in the face of "terror".

In a nuanced response, the president of the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM), Mohammed Moussaoui, urged people to "ignore" the cartoons, while condemning violence.

"The freedom to caricature is guaranteed for all, the freedom to love or not to love (the caricatures) as well. Nothing can justify violence," he told AFP.

The suspects, who go on trial from 8am GMT on Wednesday, are accused of providing various degrees of logistical support to the killers.

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The trial had been delayed several months with most French courtrooms closed over the coronavirus epidemic.

The court in Paris will sit until November 10 and, in a first for a terror trial, proceedings will be filmed for archival purposes given public interest.

National anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard dismissed the idea that it was just "little helpers" going on trial since the three gunmen were now dead.

"It is about individuals who are involved in the logistics, the preparation of the events, who provided means of financing, operational material, weapons, a residence," he told France Info radio on Monday.

"All this is essential to the terrorist action." 

(Writers: Stuart Williams, Frédéric Puochot) 

Source: http://u.afp.com/3LK8