Almost exactly 8 years after the deadly Charlie Hebdo massacre at the hands of Islamist extremists, the website of the satirical French magazine has experienced a massive cyber attack.
The incident took place shortly after the website published cartoons mocking Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over his Islamist regime’s treatment of women amid ongoing protests.
According to AFP, the Paris’ prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the hack as of last week, saying that: “An investigation was opened today of managers of fraudulent access to an automated data processing system.”
The news agency also reported that sources close to the incident say that the home page of the website was also “disfigured” by the attack.
No group to date has claimed responsibility for the hack. However, Iran’s Foreign Minister took to social media earlier this month to threaten the publication over the mocking cartoons, promising a “decisive and effective response.”
Paris chose “the wrong path” in allowing the publication of “insulting” cartoons of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday.https://t.co/dEyh20yMu5
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) January 4, 2023
Concerns have also been raised over the fact that the personal info of “several thousand subscribers” may have been stolen due to the cyber attack in question.
The incident comes amid ongoing women’s rights and free expression protests in Iran, with thousands taking to the streets to object to the country’s strict implementation of Islamic law.
The Iranian government has responded with a spate of executions of protesters, which the EU denounced as “reprehensible” and “appalling” this week.
"The EU is appalled by the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the ongoing protests in Iran," the spokesperson for EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.https://t.co/kEk1Hsl6fZ
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 7, 2023
Charlie Hebdo came to international attention on January 7th 2015, when Islamist gunmen in balaclavas wielding Kalashnikov rifles burst into the publication’s office building, murdering 12 employees over the magazine’s mockery of Muhammad, who is revered by Muslims as the Prophet and founder of Islam.
Gun attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo kills 12 http://t.co/7VzacKZDzN #CitiNews pic.twitter.com/c3S9vMXV1R
— CitiNewsroom (@Citi973) January 7, 2015
In 2021, French school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by a Chechen Muslim asylum seeker for showing the satirical cartoons to his class during a lesson about freedom of expression and free speech.
"Jean-François Ricard, France’s anti-terrorist prosecutor, said the teacher had been 'assassinated for teaching' and the attack was an assault on the principle of freedom of expression."https://t.co/eZ9Osn6jwM
— Samuel Oakford (@samueloakford) October 17, 2020
Additionally, in March of 2021, a teacher in England was suspended for showing said cartoons to his class, and ultimately went into hiding out of fear he could be killed by Islamist vigilantes.
'The Batley Grammar School teacher who showed a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad has refused to return to work over fears for his life, according to reports.'https://t.co/xl3qtysEAC
— Humanists UK (@Humanists_UK) June 22, 2021
Loading ...