On January 7, alleged Islamic extremists attacked the editorial office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people. The following day, Amedy Coulibaly, a gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, shot dead a police officer and on January 9 killed four hostages at a kosher food shop in Paris.
“Freedom of expression, in particular that of journalists, writers and other artists, must be protected and governments of member States should not interfere with its exercise be it in printed or electronic media, including the social media. In this respect, the Assembly condemns declarations against media freedom made by certain authorities in the aftermath of the attack on Charlie Hebdo,” the resolution stated.
On top of that, PACE noted that the terrorists, who claimed to be acting in the name of Islam, in fact insulted the religion they claimed to defend, prompting "many Muslim religious leaders, representatives of Islamic associations but also a large number of citizens of Muslim confession to condemn the attacks and warn against the risk of stigmatisation.”
He also stressed that a killing can never be justified, no matter what is happening in the Middle East.
