Eye On The World

Eye On The World

Paris, France (CNSNews.com) - A year after an Islamic furor over the publication of cartoons satirizing Mohammed, a two-day trial that opened in Paris Wednesday is a key test of freedom of expression, according to press freedom advocates here.

The Paris Mosque and the Union of Islamic Organizations of France are suing Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper, accusing it of insulting Muslims and inciting religious hatred by publishing three cartoons.

Two of the cartoons were reprints from a series of 12 published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005. [...]

Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, has said the cartoons went beyond satire and insulted all Muslims by associating them with terrorists.

"We don't want censorship, we don't want the sacred to be protected by blasphemy laws or medieval jurisprudence," Boubakeur said in televised comments Tuesday. [...]

The mosque is being represented in the case by Francis Szpiner, who is also President Jacques Chirac's lawyer.

When Charlie Hebdo originally published the cartoons, Chirac criticized them as provocative and said they could "dangerously stir passions."

France is entering a presidential election campaign. Among the witnesses called to testify at the trial on behalf of Charlie Hebdo are opposition Socialist party leader Francois Hollande and centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou. The paper also presented a letter of support from the front-running center right candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy. [...]