Riyadh – Saudi lawyer Othman bin Khalid Al-Otaibi has volunteered to sue the French magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing the insulting cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Sabq Arabic news reported on Friday.
Lawyer Al-Otaibi had decided to start the trial procedures when the French magazine republished the cartoons in September 2020, and a team of European lawyers are currently assisting him to prepare the case sheet and submit it to the French court in the coming weeks.
The derogatory cartoons of the Prophet sparked outrage in various Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia. Kingdom strongly condemned the heinous act, and stated that, freedom of expression is a moral value that promotes respect and coexistence among people, and it’s not the tool for spreading hatred to cause cultural and civilizational clashes.
Regarding the delay in the process to file the case, Al-Otaibi said that, “the intention to sue the magazine was in place since the magazine dared to publish the caricature, but a little wait was made due to the preparation to study the case well, and to assemble a legal team that shares the same goals”.
“We made agreement with European lawyers who converted to Islam, and they share the same goal with us, and feel angry at what was published against the Prophet”, Al-Otaibi added,
He further said, “The prosecution of the French magazine will take a short period of time, and an effort is not easy, and it may require moving from court to court, but we insist on continuing this blessed path until this magazine stops and is held accountable for insulting the Prophet of such a big community”.
Al-Otaibi plans to first approach French judiciary, which will serve as the channel to approach European Court of Human Rights. This is because, the French laws do not serve the purpose to criminalize the mockery of religions and the religious figures, while European Court does.
Charlie Hebdo is infamous for its satirical content against all religions including Judaism and Catholicism. But it was the caricatures of Islam’s Prophet which drew global condemnation for misusing freedom of expression.
