Charlie Hebdo Accused of Stealing Victims’ Money

The widow of one of the victims of the January 7, 2015 terrorist attack on the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has taken the magazine’s editors to court for allegedly stealing some of the money they had promised the victim’s families.

“Madame Gala Renaud accuses the editors of Charlie Hebdo of misappropriating the money they had promised to give [the families of the slain journalists]. They announced that all proceeds from the sale of the “Survivors’ Issue” that came out after the attack would be handed over to the families of the victims, and that the donations would be used to publish new issues," Madame Ranaud's lawyer, Jean-Hubert Portejoie, said.

"It appears, however, that they had cheated both the families of their slain colleagues and just about everybody else by handing out 4 million euros and withholding over 10 million earned from the sale of that dedicatory issue.” 

“After numerous attempts to get any explanations about the missing  money, Madame Renaud decided to take legal action against Charlie Hebdo, which we believe cheated the families of the victims and all those who had bought the ‘Survivors' Issue’ hoping that the money would go to the families of those killed,” the lawyer added.

The Charlie Hebdo magazine is known for its satirical cartoons. The magazine became famous after in January 2015, its headquarters were attacked by terrorists, with 12 people getting killed. The attack was allegedly motivated by the magazine’s publication of cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad.