Amongst the twelve dead in the attack on Charlie Hebdo includes several cartoonists and two police officers. One of them, killed at the premises, was tasked with the protection of the cartoonist Charb (Stephane Charbonnier), head of the publication.
Charb had published in the weekly edition a drawing which, in retrospect, seems prophetic -- as shown on Twitter:
Portraying a jihadist gunman, the text reads: Still no attacks in France... “Wait! You’ve got until the end of January to get your wish!”
Cruelly visionary RT @AlexHervaud: Charb in this week’s Charlie Hebdo
Charb in the last @Charlie_Hebdo_ // chilling prophecy
In February 2006, Charlie Hebdo, along with several other European newspapers, published 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, originally published in the Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten, in the name of freedom of the press. These drawings provoked violent protests in the Muslim world, and since then the newspaper has been the object of recurring threats from Islamist groups. In November 2011, despite threats, Charlie Hebdo persisted and published a special issue renamed “Sharia Weekly” with, in one drawing, a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed beaming. It sold 400,000 copies. The day of the publication, the newspaper’s headquarters was badly damaged by arsonists. The government then spoke of an “attack” and pointed the blame at “Muslim fundamentalists.”
The head of the weekly newspaper, Charb, threatened with death, was then put under police protection, which continued until today. Interviewed by Le Monde about the threats that targeted him, the cartoonist declared that he did not fear possible retaliation. “I don’t have children, nor a wife, nor a car, nor credit,” he replied. “This may be a bit a bit pompous, what I’m about to say, but I’d rather die standing than to live on my knees.”
"Je préfère mourir debout que vivre à genoux" #Charb #CharlieHebdo itw Le Monde sept 2012 via @isabellehanne pic.twitter.com/rpPI6fWuaP
— Aude B (@Aude_Com) 7 Janvier 2015
Aude B : “I’d rather die standing than to live on my knees” #Charb #CharlieHebdo itw Le Monde Sept. 2012 via @isabellehanne