“Heartless killing of French journalists is an attempt to suppress the freedom of speech by gunshots. There is no and there can be no justification for it: any discussions regarding the journalism ethics can be held only with living journalists and not with the dead. And certainly not with the ideological supporters of terrorism,” Mikhail Fedotov said in a statement published on the council’s website on Wednesday.
Fedotov expressed his deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed and said that he hopes the terrorist attack will not lead to a witch hunt against the European Muslims or a new wave of Islamophobia. “Otherwise one would be able to say that the terrorists achieved their aim,” Fedotov warned.
On Wednesday morning, three gunmen attacked the office of satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people and injuring 11.
The Kremlin press service reported Wednesday evening that Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the Paris attack and confirmed Moscow's readiness to continue cooperating with France in the battle against terrorism.
