Newspaper in court for publishing Mohammed cartoons
From Expatica Newspaper in court for publishing Mohammed cartoons PARIS, Feb 5, 2007 (AFP) Editors of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo will be in a Paris court Wednesday to answer a civil case brought by two Islamic organisations over its publication last February of controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. The Union of Islamic Organisations of France (UOIF) and the Grand Mosque of Paris (GMP) sued the weekly after it printed the 12 caricatures that appeared originally in a Danish newspaper in September 2005, provoking riots across the Islamic world. The plaintiffs accuse Charlie Hebdo of the crime of "issuing insults stigmatising a group of people on the basis of religion", and are demanding 30,000 euros (38,750 dollars) in damages. The trial is expected to last two days. The decision to print the cartoons "was part of a considered plan of provocation aimed against the Islamic community in its most intimate faith, born out of a simplistic Islamophobia as well as purely commercial interests," according to the plea before the court. Three drawings are cited. One showed Mohammed in a turban shaped as a bomb, and the second showed him turning away suicide bombers from paradise on the grounds that "there are no more virgins." The third cartoon did not appear in the Danish Jyllands-Posten but was drawn by the French artist Cabu and showed the Prophet with his head in his hands saying: "It is hard to be loved by fools." In the same edition, Charlie Hebdo also printed cartoons poking fun at other religions. Other French newspapers including Le Monde, Liberation and France-Soir printed some or all of the controversial cartoons, prompting criticism from President Jacques Chirac who said that "freedom of expression must be exercised in a spirit of responsibility." A group of 50 intellectuals including many French Muslims published an open letter in Liberation Monday urging support for Charlie Hebdo, and describing Wednesday's trial as a -*test*-('") case for free speech. "Democrats the world over and especially Muslims hope to see in Europe, and above all in France, a secular haven where their words are not blocked by dictators or fundamentalists. If Charlie Hebdo were to be convicted ... we would all lose this shared space of resistance and liberty," they said. In October a Danish court cleared the editors of Jyllands-Posten after it was sued by Muslim groups. The judge at Aarhus district court ruled that the cartoons were neither offensive nor intended to denigrate Muslims.

I'm relieved to learn that the accusations of the two Muslim groups have been rejected by the French court. A small victory for common sense and the establishment of an important precedent. From Reuters French court clears weekly in Mohammad cartoon row Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:25PM EDT By Thierry Leveque PARIS (Reuters) - A French court on Thursday ruled in favor of a satirical weekly that had printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, rejecting accusations by Islamic groups who said the publication incited hatred against Muslims. Following a recommendation by the public prosecutor, the court said the cartoons published by the weekly Charlie Hebdo fell under the category of freedom of expression and did not constitute an attack on Islam in general. "The acceptable limits of freedom of expression have not been overstepped, with the contentious pictures participating in a public debate of general interest," the court said. The cartoons, originally published in 2005 by a Danish daily, provoked violent pro-*test*-('")s in Asia, Africa and the Middle East that left 50 people dead. Several European publications reprinted them as an affirmation of free speech. With France's presidential election just a month away, the court case has been overshadowed by election politics and added to a debate about freedom of speech and whether religions can be criticized. DEFENSE OF WEEKLY Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative presidential frontrunner, his centrist rival Francois Bayrou, and Socialist party leader Francois Hollande have all spoken out in defense of the weekly. Charlie Hebdo publisher Philippe Val has said he published the caricatures in February 2006 after the editor-in-chief of the Paris tabloid France Soir was fired for reprinting them. "I am happy, not just for Charlie, but for everyone," Val said after the ruling. "It's good news for those who believe in freedom of expression and for Muslims who are secular and support the ideals of the republic." The Paris Grand Mosque, World Islamic League and Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF) sued the magazine over its publication of two of the Danish caricatures and one of its own. UOIF said it would appeal against Thursday's decision. The Muslim groups said the cartoon showing a bomb in the Prophet's turban branded all Muslims as terrorists, as did Charlie Hebdo's cartoon showing the Prophet reacting to Islamist militants by saying: "It's hard to be loved by idiots." But the court said that while the cartoon picturing the bomb in the Prophet's turban could offend Muslims if seen on its own, the picture had to be judged in the context of the magazine issue, which had treated religious fundamentalism. Even if the cartoon in itself was "shocking or hurting for Muslims, there is no deliberate desire to offend them," it said. Courts in France, which observes a strict separation of church and state in the public sphere, have repeatedly defended free speech rights against religious objections. Media rights group Reporters Without Borders welcomed the court decision, saying: "This judgment is a victory of press freedom and is in no case the defeat of one community."