Boy, 8, arrested over breaking Charlie Hebdo silence

French police have come under fire after they arrested an 8-year-old boy for refusing to participate in silence held for the Charlie Hebdo victims.

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by Jessica Anais Rach |
Published on

On January 8th, the day after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, the boy refused to take part in a nationwide two-minute silence.

The silence was being held in honor of the 17 victims gunned down by extremists, in the magazine offices responsible for releasing controversial cartoons depicting Muslim prophet Muhammed.

The young boy reportedly refused to honour the silence as he believed the cartoons should not have been released.

He is quoted as having said: “I am not Charlie. I am with the terrorists.”

The child was questioned for 30 minutes by police. He was then allowed to play with toys while his father answered police questions.

Arab World Institute pays tribute to Charlie Hebdo
Arab World Institute pays tribute to Charlie Hebdo

His father condemned what the boy was reported to have said but made a formal complaint about the decision to interrogate his son.

“It’s crazy. This was out of all proportion,” said the family’s lawyer, Sefen Guez Guez.

“They took seriously the words of an eight-year-old child, who doesn’t understand what he is saying.”

Authorities have come under fire following the arrest, with suggestions of hysteria and Islamophobia.

A spokesman for France’s Collective Against Islamophobia said: ‘Father and son are deeply shocked by their treatment which illustrates the collective hysteria that has engulfed France.'

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