Safrea condemns Charlie Hebdo killings

The 12 people murdered, including several magazine staffers, are casualties in an ongoing war over ideas that is becoming one of the defining issues of our time.

Charlie Hebdo or "Charlie Weekly" in English, is a weekly satirical current affairs newspaper that often offends the subjects of its articles, notably religious fundamentalists.

For years, its staffers have been the subject of death threats and the moderate French Council of the Muslim faith has deplored some of its material.

Freedom of expression is fundamental to a free society

"In the liberal democratic tradition, of which France is one of the founding nations, freedom of expression is a basic tenet," said Safrea Chairman Clive Lotter. "The right to express ideas or criticise others is fundamental to a free society."

"The thought of placing limits on this - because it may offend or even insult - raises questions of who or what body should vet such content," he continued. "By extension, all content would then have to be vetted, and since many of the most powerful ideas will offend someone, the idea of limiting freedom of expression is unworkable."

"Safrea supports the right of Charlie Hebdo to express its ideas and reaffirms our solidarity with the magazine, its staff and the people of France."