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At the start of the process, "Charlie Hebdo" had reprinted Mohammed cartoons
Photo: Yoan Valat / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Following renewed threats by the al-Qaeda terrorist network against the French satirical newspaper "Charlie Hebdo", around a hundred media outlets in France called for support for the newspaper and for freedom of expression.
An open letter circulated on Wednesday said: "The enemies of freedom must understand that we are all determined opponents, regardless of our differences of opinion or belief."
In the past five years women and men have been murdered by fanatics because of their origins or their opinions.
The signatories of the letter include regional and national editorial offices - such as those of France Télévisions, "Le Parisien", "La Voix du Nord", "Le Journal du Dimanche" or "Charlie Hebdo".
Threats after cartoons
The trial of 14 alleged helpers of the two assassins who killed twelve people in an attack on the editorial staff of "Charlie Hebdo" in January 2015, including some of the most famous cartoonists in France, has been on trial since the beginning of September.
At the beginning of the trial, the satirical magazine republished the Mohammed cartoons, which made them the target of Islamists.
According to experts, al-Qaeda then threatened another attack.
In addition, the satirical newspaper's head of personnel had to be taken to a safe place after death threats.
These threats went "far beyond Charlie" and affected "all media and even the President of the Republic," said "Charlie Hebdo" editor-in-chief Laurent Sourisseau.
The letter was a "collective response" to the threats and a call to defend "the freedom of expression and freedom of all French citizens," said Sourisseau.
The letter is entitled: "Let's defend freedom together".
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