Charlie Hebdo shooting: police release names and photos of two brothers wanted for the attack – as it happened
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Version 0 of 1. 3.11am ET08:11 Summary This blog has now ended. Below is a summary of the latest news. You can follow the Guardian’s continuing coverage here. 3.01am ET08:01 Some more pcitures from Melbourne where about 1000 people have gathered at a vigil and signed a book of condolence arranged by an Australian media union, the Media Alliance. After the minute’s silence some cries from the crowd in French such as ‘Nous sommes Charlie!’ 2.31am ET07:31 Hundreds of people are gathering in Melbourne for an Australian vigil for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack. About 800 people at Melbourne tribute for #JeSuisCharlie in Melbourne. Speeches in French and English pic.twitter.com/MB3GxZqJ0e 2.20am ET07:20 'Several arrests' says French PM There were “several arrests” overnight as police hunted the two suspects, the French prime minister Manuel Valls has said.AP reports that in an interview with RTL radio Thursday, Valls said preventing another attack “is our main concern,” as he explained why authorities released photos of the two men along with a plea for witnesses to come forward. 2.05am ET07:05 I’ll soon be handing this blog over to my colleagues in London who will continue the coverage. In the meantime you can read our latest wrap of the attack and its aftermath as police search for the killers and France comes to terms with the deaths. Below is an excerpt: The brutal shootings triggered a wave of solidarity, with rallies in defence of free speech in more than 30 French cities and in global capitals. President François Hollande has declared a day of national mourning for Thursday with flags at half-mast for three days, saying the country had been “struck at its very heart”. But he vowed: “Freedom will always be stronger than barbarism.” World leaders also pledged they would not be cowed, but the longer-term impact on free expression was unclear in the wake of a mass killing of such brutality. Updated at 2.12am ET 1.35am ET06:35 Guardian Australia’s cartoonist First Dog on the Moon has lent his pen to the attack on the Charlie Hebdo staff. Below are the first two panels, click here to see the full cartoon. 1.03am ET06:03 The latest issue of Charlie Hebdo lampoons Islamophobia, not Islam, writes Elaine Teng in the New Republic. The issue and cover image ridicules French author Michel Houellebecq and his new book, Submission, which reportedly imagines a France in 2022 under an Islamic government. From the New Republic: One of the great ironies of the attack was that it occurred on the same day that Submission and the issue of Charlie Hebdo making fun of it hit French bookstores. What happened to Charlie Hebdo was a horrific attack by radical Islamists seeking to silence the publication. But as the conversation moves forward, it’s important to remember that the editors and cartoonists ofCharlie Hebdo weren’t just fighting Islamic fundamentalism, but other forms of intolerant and dogmatic thinking as well.” Read the rest here. 12.56am ET05:56 I'm lost for words - #CharlieHebdo #jesuischarlie pic.twitter.com/yN6ZpTeB4I 12.35am ET05:35 The Australian partner of one of the Charlie Hebdo staff members currently receiving medical treatment for a gunshot wound has spoken to Fairfax media. Maisie Dubosarsky, 27, had been emailing her boyfriend, Simon Fieschi, 31, just minutes before the attack. Fieschi was shot in the shoulder, according to Fairfax, and is being kept in an induced coma. “He liked to say that his job was to troll people,” Dubosarsky told Fairfax. “They’re very cool people [at Charlie Hebdo] and they tell people to get lost. “They got threats all the time but … none of them thought that their lives were under threat. They were out in public all the time.” Read more here. 12.21am ET05:21 Earlier I shared with you some of the many opinion and analysis pieces which had been prompted by the attacks. One that is causing some controversy is from radical UK cleric Anjem Choudary, who essentially says the French government placed people at risk by allowing Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons which “provoke” Muslims. Choudary calls for the sanctity of Prophet Muhammad to be protected. If you wish to read it, you can find it here. Updated at 12.24am ET 12.11am ET05:11 There are many questions around the 18-year-old who handed himself in to police. The French ambassador to Australia, Christophe Lecourtier has told Australian media 18-year-old Mourad Hamyd had been arrested by police, and also had a history of previous arrests. Lecourtier did not mention any claims of innocence. Hamyd is being described as a suspect but reports - some unconfirmed and all from unnamed sources - surfaced a few hours ago that he did so only because he saw his name published online. Itele cited its own sources when it reported Hamyd went to police to tell them he was innocent and had been in school at the time of the attack. Social media in France is now showing numerous apparent students and friends proclaiming Hamyd’s innocence, with some posting under the hashtag “#MouradHamydInnocent” that he had been with them in class. Andy Carvin and Kim Bui of Reported.ly have gone through them. 11.52pm ET04:52 The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has attended a vigil for the victims at the Washington Newseum in the US. Legarde said she attended the rally to show solidarity as well as sympathy for the victims.“We are all still in shock,” Lagarde said, recalling the “cartoonists who who have been a part of our daily lives for years.” Still in the US, the French embassy has added its voice to the scores proclaiming solidarity with the Charlie Hebdo victims. Here @franceintheus, We are all Charlie Hebdo! #NousSommesTousDesCharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/AoCNoU5Qv2 Updated at 11.58pm ET 11.48pm ET04:48 Crowd of several hundreds in near silence at French consulate in SF. #jesuischarlie #CharlieHebdo https://t.co/q4sAAOH7dV 11.29pm ET04:29 There is a lot of commentary around today, as France and the world tries to come to terms with what has happened and what is still happening while police hunt for the killers. Below are two recent pieces, from the New Yorker and Slate. This from George Packer at the New Yorker addresses to idea of blame, and the ideology which seems to have driven these men to kill so many people. You can read it in full here, below is an excerpt. [T]he murders in Paris were so specific and so brazen as to make their meaning quite clear. The cartoonists died for an idea. The killers are soldiers in a war against freedom of thought and speech, against tolerance, pluralism, and the right to offend – against everything decent in a democratic society. So we must all try to be Charlie, not just today but every day. Yascha Mounk over at Slate, looks at the inevitable political reactions and assessments. Mounk writes that Europeans are simultaneously too Islamophobic and too timid to face up to the realities of Islamic fundamentalism. Again, you can read it in full here, with an except below. The attack on Charlie Hebdo will further entrench the terms of a confused European debate about Muslim immigrants – one in which both the “accusers” and the “defenders” of Islam are painting in dangerously broad brushstrokes. While the European far right points to Islamic terrorism to exclude and malign all Muslims, the European left responds by refusing to recognize how fundamental a challenge Islamic terrorism represents (or that it is inspired by Islam at all). Updated at 11.39pm ET 11.17pm ET04:17 UK's Cobra to convene The UK’s emergency security committee, Cobra, will meet in response to the Paris attack, the BBC is reporting. It’s not known exactly when the group of ministers, police and security advisers, chaired by home secretary Theresa May, will convene. Updated at 11.37pm ET 11.14pm ET04:14 #jesuischarlie is now taking off on social media in multiple languages, including Farsi and Arabic. The images of printed text appear to have originated from the Charlie Hebdo website. Take two: Anyone read Farsi? MT @gfry @acarvin can U ask Ur network the meaning of this, plz. Is it #JeSuisCharlie? pic.twitter.com/KYTxdefRkr 11.03pm ET04:03 The murders at Charlie Hebdo “seems to be an attack on freedom of the press, freedom of ideas, however controversial,” Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop has told media. She said people cannot adjust their lives in response to terrorist attacks but urged vigilance. “We can’t be complacent but we can’t let the terrorists win,” she said. Acting opposition leader Tony Burke labelled the attack “an appalling act of terrorism.” “The actions have been an attack on fundamental democratic right on freedom of speech.” Prime minister Tony Abbott said it was a “horrific atrocity”, but we can expect more of it because Islamc State “had declared war on the world” because they “hate our freedom, they hate our pluralism”. Watch his statement in full here: The French ambassador to Australia, Christophe Lecourtier, earlier acknowledged the incident proved that creating satire is dangerous. Lecourtier said the attackers had targeted values shared by France and Australia. “Freedom of press, freedom of expression, and this is something universal that is so important for us. This is what the terrorists have tried to kill yesterday in Paris,” he said. Flags are at half mast and security has been increased at the French embassies in Sydney and Canberra. In Sydney a gathering is planned at Hyde Park at 9.30pm local time, and will include a minute’s silence at 10pm, when there will also be a minute’s silence in France. In Melbourne, people will be showing their support for Charlie Hebdo by gathering in Federation Square. Read more from my colleague, Bridie Jabour. Updated at 11.46pm ET 10.51pm ET03:51 More from Reuters on the alleged gunmen, Said Kouachi, born in 1980, and Cherif Kouachi, born in 1982, both from Paris. BFM TV said other arrests had taken place in circles linked to the two brothers. The police source said Cherif Kouachi had previously been tried on terrorism charges and served 18 months in prison. He was charged with criminal association related to a terrorist enterprise in 2005. He had been part of an Islamist cell that enlisted French nationals from a mosque in eastern Paris to go to Iraq to fight Americans in Iraq. He was arrested before leaving for Iraq to join militants. The police source said anti-terrorism police searching for the suspects and links to them had carried out searches in Reims, Strasbourg and Paris as part of the investigation. Updated at 11.19pm ET 10.37pm ET03:37 Reuters has confirmed the surrender of the younger alleged gunman, citing the Paris prosecutor’s office. It also reports that one of the three men had been identified by an identity card left in the getaway car. A Reuters reporter in Reims also saw anti-terrorism police secure a building before a forensics team entered an apartment there while dozens of residents looked on. 10.30pm ET03:30 More from the global vigils. The Guardian’s Kayla Epstein has filed this from New York, with a video from Raya Jalabi. Upward of 200 people braved the brutally cold evening to gather in New York City’s Union Square to hold an impassioned vigil for Charlie Hebdo’s slain staff. Many were French expats who had lived in the states for many years, but the Paris attack hit close to home. Holding signs that read “Je Suis Charlie”, the rallying cry that had echoed across social media in the wake of the killings, they chanted “we are not afraid” and sang La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. One woman even brought a large French flag, which waved high above the crowd in the frigid January wind. “I’m speechless, sad — and pissed,” said Celine Basset, who was raised not far from Charlie Hebdo’s offices in Paris and had lived in New York for the past six years. She carried a massive photo of the magazine’s late editor Stephane Charbonnier. “I grew up on Charlie Hebdo, my dad used to buy it,” said Olivier Conan, a Parisian-born musician who had lived in New York for 30 years. Conan said the attack on the satirical paper struck at the heart of French culture and identity. “People get together, have dinner, and be buffoons ... it’s important that [Charlie Hebdo] took on these important issues and made light of them.” The vigil was also a moment for New York’s French community to come together and offer each other support. “If you’re far away from your country it makes it worse,” said Caroline Mardok. Some attendees stood huddled together chatting softly in English and French. Some even shared a cigarette or two in an attempt to beat back the chill. Charlie Hebdo’s supporters also worried about what the attack would mean for the future of France. Conan feared that inflamed rhetoric over jihad and Islamist extremism “would turn into the only real so-called ‘debate’ the French society would have”. “The biggest mistake would be to try to make consequences on people’s liberty,” said Etienne Sabatier, who feared that France’s Muslim community would face backlash after the attack. “It’s just pure violence and pure barbarism ... just trying to give it more signification [sic] than that would be a mistake.” Updated at 10.37pm ET 10.18pm ET03:18 “The murder of satire is no laughing matter. The horrifying carnage at Charlie Hebdo is a reminder, if ever we needed it, that irreverence is the lifeblood of freedom,” writes Simon Schama in the Financial Times. Schama offers a quick but detailed look at the history of satire and its reception in Europe, stating that “liberty and laughter have been twinned in the European tradition for more than three centuries and have together proclaimed as precious the right to ridicule.” Yesterday there was a bloody attempt to wipe the smile from our faces. But though the self-righteous have killed the satirists they will never annihilate satire itself. Just the opposite. From now on, Charlie Hebdo will be the rallying point for all those who cherish life and laughter over the death-cult of sanctimonious gloom. So we owe it to the fallen to remind ourselves amid the blood, grief and rage, that just because the unhinged perpetrators are murderers does not mean they are also not clowns. You can read the article in full here. It has been published outside the FT’s paywall. Updated at 10.30pm ET 9.56pm ET02:56 A vigil for Charlie Hebdo victims has been held in Brazil. This report from the Guardian’s Latin American correspondent, Jonathan Watts. More than 200 people have gathered in Rio de Janeiro in a show of solidarity for Charlie Hebdo. Some carry cartoons they have drawn themselves, many have printed banners declaring “Je suis Charlie”, a handful hold aloft caricatures of the prophet Muhammad drawn by the murdered satirists. “I’m here to show respect. Those killed were great humanists,” said Sarah Bazim, who is of mixed Brazilian-French descent. “This was not just an attack on people. They tried to kill journalists, humorists and freedom of speech.” Most of those present in the gathering at Largo do Machado are French. Some are in tears, but everyone stresses that the issues at stake go beyond a single nation. ‘“Freedom of speech is the core of western values. If we don’t defend this, it is the end of our civilisation,” said Eric de Haynin, a former trader. Other says they have grown up with the wit, wisdom and world view of the magazine. “Since I was a teenager I’ve been seeing the caricatures of these guys. They have shaped my view of political life over 25 years. I defend what they do as a citizen of the world. You shouldn’t be killed because of what you drew or said,” anthropologist Jean François Veran commented. Several Brazilians have also turned up to show support and sympathy. “I was shocked by what happened today,” said Erica de Castro, an administrator. “This is is an assault on freedom of expression, on humour, on world values. So I want to show solidarity and to console the French people here who are suffering.” Updated at 10.41pm ET 9.36pm ET02:36 This is Helen Davidson, taking over the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the attack. French news broadcaster Itele is reporting the young alleged gunman who handed himself in to police earlier has claimed innocence. Agence France-Presse said a short time ago the 18-year-old surrendered to authorities near the Belgian border. Itele is now citing its own sources to say he gave police a “credible” alibi – that he was in school at the time of the attack. #CharlieHebdo > le plus jeune des 3 hommes recherchés s'est rendu de lui-même à la police, clamant son innocence #CharlieHebdo > l'alibi présenté par le plus jeune des 3 hommes recherchés serait jugé crédible par les enquêteurs, selon nos informations #Charleville > l'alibi du plus jeune des 3 hommes recherchés : il se trouvait au lycée au moment des faits (@GuillaumeAuda) #CharlieHebdo Updated at 10.42pm ET 9.03pm ET02:03 Alongside Kayla Epstein, who also braved NYC’s cold. French expats hold #CharlieHebdo vigil in NYC's Union Square, chanted "#JeSuisCharlie!" & "we are not afraid" pic.twitter.com/wKa17gzP4q 9.02pm ET02:02 The Guardian’s Raya Jalabi has been in New York City’s Union Square, where a vigil has been held in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo. CHANTS: WHO ARE WE? Charlie! Qui Sommes nous? Charlie! #CharlieHebdo in Union sq nyc pic.twitter.com/qtFtt2yBtU 8.57pm ET01:57 More reports, this time from AFP, that the youngest of the three alleged Charlie Hebdo gunman, has surrendered. Again, this remains unconfirmed, but it is being reported 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad handed himself in at a police station in Charleville-Mézières in the Ardennes, near the Belgian border. #BREAKING: Youngest of three suspects in Paris attack surrenders to police, sources say Updated at 9.03pm ET 8.50pm ET01:50 French police have released the names and pictures of the two brothers wanted over the Charlie Hebdo attack. They are: Said Kouachi, 34, and Cherif Kouachi, 32. BREAKING NEWS: French police release pictures of brothers wanted over magazine massacre. SHARE! #ParisShooting pic.twitter.com/C6lYvuqP8v 8.42pm ET01:42 Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell is defiant: Well said Steve Bell #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/8NhjVkXeAB 8.36pm ET01:36 Meanwhile in Reims... All is quiet. Mood outside Reims block of flats is relaxed. Police commandos pulled back. Killer(s) not here if they ever were. 8.35pm ET01:35 US ABC is reporting that the youngest of the three suspects in the Charlie Hebdo attack is in custody. This report is unconfirmed at this stage. French Interior Ministry confirms to @ABC that youngest of 3 suspects in #CharlieHebdo attack has surrendered to police. 8.34pm ET01:34 Those killed... The twelve victims of the attack have been identified. They are: Charb – whose real name was Stephane Charbonnier, 47, artist and publisher of Charlie Hebdo. Cabu – whose real name was Jean Cabut, 76, Charlie Hebdo’s lead cartoonist. He had been honoured with the legion of honour, France’s highest decoration, in 2005. Georges Wolinski – Tuinisian-born artist, 80. Had been drawing cartoons since the 1960s, and worked for Hara-Kiri, a satirical magazine considered a forerunner to Charlie Hebdo. Tignous – whose real name was Bernard Verlhac, 57, was a member of a group of artists called Cartoonists for Peace. Bernard Maris – known as “Uncle Bernard”, 68, was an economist and wrote a regular column for Charlie Hebdo. Honoré – Philippe Honoré, 73, was a cartoonist who had worked for Charlie Hebdo since 1992. He was the artist who drew the last cartoon tweeted by the weekly only moments before the massacre. The cartoon shows the leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, presenting his New Year message saying “and especially good health!” Michel Renaud – a former journalist and political staffer who founded a cultural festival. He was visiting the Charlie Hebdo offices from Clermont-Ferrard. Mustapha Ourrad – a copy-editor for Charlie Hebdo. Of Algerian descent. Elsa Cayat – Charlie Hebdo analyst and columnist. Frederic Boisseau – building maintenance worker. Franck Brinsolaro – 49-year-old policeman appointed to head security for Charb. He was the father of a one-year-old daughter. Ahmed Merabet - 42 and a French Muslim. A police officer and member of the 11th arrondissement brigade. Le Figaro has a comprehensive report on the victims (in French). Updated at 8.50pm ET 8.21pm ET01:21 Killers 'claimed to be al-Qaida' The Guardian’s Kim Willsher reports from Paris: According to the Paris prosecutor François Molins, the hooded gunmen, wearing bulletproof vests, first entered the wrong building at number 8 rue Nicolas-Appert, next door to the Charlie Hebdo offices at number 10. On entering the magazine building, they shot and killed a man in the entrance hall before taking the stairs to the second floor where the Charlie Hebdo staff were having a weekly editorial meeting, on the day the magazine is published. The rest of the week the magazine offices are hardly staffed, suggesting the gunmen knew exactly when to attack. One of the magazine’s cartoonists, Coco, said the men “spoke perfect French ... and claimed to be al-Qaida”. As they fled, the gunmen fired on a patrolling police car, forcing it to withdraw. Two police officers then arrived on the Boulevard Richard Lenoir on bicycles. One of them, Ahmed Merabe, aged 42, was gunned down. As he lay writhing on the road, the gunmen stopped fleeing and turned back from their vehicle. One of the attackers then shot Merabe in the head and ran back to the car. The men drove towards the Porte de Pantin on the north-eastern outskirts of Paris, ramming into a Volkswagen and injuring the woman driver. They abandoned their car near the Buttes-Chaumont park in the 19th arrondissement and hijacked another vehicle, a Renault Clio, ordering the driver out before speeding off. The investigation and manhunt involves around 3,000 police. Updated at 8.26pm ET 8.17pm ET01:17 One of France’s largest newspapers, and its public radio and television broadcasters, have vowed that “Charlie Hebdo will live”. In a statement, le Monde, Radio France and France Televisions have pledged to commit “all the means necessary for Charlie Hebdo to survive”. They have offered staff and other support to ensure it continues to publish. They have invited other French media outlets to join them “to preserve the principles of independence and liberty of thought and expression, the guarantors of our democracy”. Le Monde, Radio France et France Televisions mettent à disposition de Charlie Hebdo tous leurs moyens. pic.twitter.com/26WgcOj73Z Updated at 8.23pm ET 7.50pm ET00:50 The world reacts... The attack on Charlie Hebdo has dominated newspaper front pages all over the world. The Guardian has compiled a gallery of fronts from across the globe. Updated at 8.02pm ET 7.38pm ET00:38 Agence France-Presse, quoting a source close to the case, reports that three men, two of them brothers, have been identified as suspects. The men’s names have been widely reported in the French press. Several thousand police have been deployed to find the gunmen, one of whom was convicted in 2008 for involvement in a network sending fighters to Iraq, the source said. The suspects were said to be aged 18, 32 and 34. “They are considered dangerous and heavily armed,” the source said. Updated at 8.29pm ET 7.33pm ET00:33 Banksy on Charlie Hebdo ... artists will not be cowed Banksy’s take on #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/FuqO8rAVcP Updated at 8.29pm ET 7.28pm ET00:28 In Paris, further details about the victims of the attack are emerging. Anne Penketh reports from the French capital: The cartoonist Honoré has been identified as the fifth caricaturist to be fatally wounded in Wednesday’s attack while he attended an editorial meeting at the Charlie Hebdo magazine. Honoré, whose full name was Philippe Honoré, was the artist who drew the last cartoon tweeted by the weekly only moments before the massacre. The cartoon shows the leader of the Islamic State (Isis), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, presenting his New Year message saying “and especially good health!” Meilleurs vœux, au fait. pic.twitter.com/a2JOhqJZJM Honoré, 73, was a self-educated artist who published his first illustration in the regional newspaper Sud-Ouest at the age of 16. He went on to work for major French dailies, including Le Monde and Libération, and had been with Charlie Hebdo since 1992. Michel Renaud from Clermont-Ferrand has also been confirmed among the dead. Renaud was visiting the magazine’s offices. A former journalist who founded a cultural festival in his home city in central France, he had been invited to take part in the editorial meeting by the cartoonist Cabu who was also shot dead on Wednesday. Updated at 8.36pm ET 7.25pm ET00:25 On the streets of Paris ... We Are Charlie Nous Sommes Charlie, people united against the horror in Paris. People gather to Place de Republique to fight for freedom or press after the shooting in Paris. Sent via Guardian Witness By fweber 8 January 2015, 9:34 Updated at 8.36pm ET 7.10pm ET00:10 There is still significant confusion about the nature and significance of the police raid in Reims. French TV images are showing live pictures of armed anti-terrorism unit officers surrounding an apartment in the northern city. Some police have been seen leaving the apartment block. The Guardian’s Kim Willsher, in Paris, says: There is a rumour that one of the gunmen has been killed in the police raid. I cannot confirm this. The France 2 journalist Hugo Clément who is at the scene says there has been NO information given about arrests or deaths. “The only certain thing is that there’s a raid”, he writes. iTele, a French news channel, have said that the police raid is not a full-scale assault seeking to make arrests, but a search for DNA samples and other evidence. 7.02pm ET00:02 Summary Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine on Wednesday in Paris. Here’s a summary of where things stand: Updated at 8.41pm ET |