Charlie Hebdo resumes after attacks
February 23, 2015
Satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo has prepared for its first regular issue following deadly attacks in January which left 12 of its team members dead. The new issue, to hit the stands on Wednesday has the caption: "Here we go again."
The latest cover has images of a small dog with a copy of the magazine being chased by bloodthirsty hounds as well as caricatures of the pope, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a jihadi fighter holding a Kalashnikov rifle and extreme-right wing leader Marie le Pen.
'We needed a break'
The issue to be released on Wednesday is the first proper version after the Paris shootings. It has a print run of 2.5 million copies. Before the attacks, the print run was just 60,000.
"We needed a break, a rest… There were those who needed to work again straight away, like me and those who wanted to take more time," Gerard Biard, the paper's new chief editor told news agency AFP.
The editorial team of Charlie Hebdo, who make a living out of poking fun at political and religious leaders, had released a "survivors' issue" after the January 7 attacks, showing a weeping prophet Mohammed on the cover holding a #Jesuischarlie (I am Charlie) sign.
"Je suis Charlie" was the slogan the world took on to express solidarity with the victims who were targeted by two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi. They claimed they were taking revenge for the paper’s past caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, which they considered blasphemous.
The brothers forced their way into the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris on January 7 while the editorial team was meeting. The men fired up to 50 shots, killing 11 people and injuring 11 others in the building. They then killed a French National Police officer in the street outside.
The killers identified themselves as belonging to Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, which later took responsibility for the attack. Both men were pursued and shot dead by police.
In February, a gunman who claimed to have been inspired by the Paris siege, killed Swedish filmmaker Lars Vilks and a Jewish security guard in Copenhagen.
The attacks raised questions on the limits of freedom of expression and religious tolerance in Europe.
mg/jm (AFP, dpa)