Offices of French magazine torched after latest edition mocked Prophet Mohammed
Molotov cocktails were today used to burn down the headquarters of a leading French magazine because it mocked the Prophet Mohammed.
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| Firefighters walk past the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris which was set on fire with petrol bombs. |
Arsonists struck shortly after 1am at the Paris offices of Charlie Hedbo, a Gallic version of Private Eye which prides itself on its mix of cutting satire and investigative journalism.
Its latest edition carries a cartoon image of a bearded Mohammed - something which is blasphemous under Islamic law - and pretends that it is being 'guest edited' by the Prophet.
It is accompanied by the slogan '100 lashes if you don't die of laughter', and the magazine is renamed 'Sharia Hebdo', after Sharia law.
A source at the magazine, based in Boulevard Davout in the city's 20th arrondissement, said: 'Molotov cocktail petrol bombs were used to attack the offices first thing this morning.
'The attackers concentrated on the computer system, literally melting it. The offices were empty so nobody was injured, but thousands of euros worth of damage were caused.'
Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief, a cartoonist known only as Charb, said: 'We no longer have a newspaper. All our equipment has been destroyed or has melted.
'We could not put a paper together today, but we will do everything possible to produce one next week.
'Whatever happens, we'll do it. There is no question of giving up.'
The magazine's website was also hacked, with messages appearing in English and Turkish denouncing its journalists for causing widespread offence.
Armed police were this morning surrounding the charred remains of the building, which is close to a number of housing estates where the occupants are predominantly Muslim. -DAILYMAIL
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