CPJ condemns firebomb attack on magazine

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the firebomb attack on the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the disabling of its website by hackers.

Playing off the similar pronunciations of “Charlie” and “Sharia” in French, Charlie Hebdo renamed its latest issue Charia Hebdo, and announced the Prophet Muhammad as a "guest editor" to celebrate the victory of the Tunisian Islamist party Ennahada in the country's recent elections. The cover (top) showed Muhammad declaring, “100 lashes if you don’t die of laughter!”

CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Nina Ognianova said: "We are appalled by the attempt to destroy Charlie Hebdo both physically and on the Web. Journalists should not be subjected to violence for presenting contentious views. We call on French authorities to find and bring all responsible for these attacks to justice."

French newspaper Libération has offered Charlie Hebdo staffers a temporary refuge in its office.