As a result of the attack which targeted Charlie Hebdo Magazine in Paris the capital city of France on the 7th January 2015, 10 employees of the magazine and 2 police officers responsible for protection died and more than 20 people were injured. We condemn fiercely this attack aimed at Charlie Hebdo Magazine and hereby express our condolences with the owner/ writers/ caricaturists of the magazine, the families of the victims and the French public. According to information initially given to the public, the attack was carried out by Islamic militants that we can define as jihadist.
Freedom of expression is one of the most important and basic human rights. Besides, pluralism accordingly democracy uses it as a base. Being attacked with guns and slaughtered can not be acceptable in return for a Parisian magazine criticizing various religions and political leaders through the use of caricatures. We want to remark that there is no relationship and link between those people who made this attack and religious morality and humanity. As far as we are concerned it is impossible that any religion and faith allows these kinds of attacks and massacres. Using methods of terror, religion and faith as a shield by radical groups, the recruitment of people through the help of these means and carrying out attacks is an important problem of the 21st century. The murderous behavior of radical jihadist organizations like ISIS, especially in targeting Yezidi, Asuri and Assyrian communities as well as the Kurdish people in Rojava/Syria have inflicted deep wounds on the global human conscience. Governments or states that support these kind of organizations and overlook their brutal acts which cause human rights abuses should their policies of support and instead protect human rights unambiguously.
The attack which was carried out in Paris is as much a threat to the values of tolerance and diversity which have been developed by human societies as much as for freedom of expression. These values are in danger because of radical groups which use methods of terror.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION