Charlie Hebdo attack: Paris terrorists aimed at freedom of expression, we must defend it

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A mourner holds an “I am Ahmed” sign during the funeral of police Officer Ahmed Merabet at a mosque in Bobigny, France. Merabet was killed by terrorists during the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

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A woman’s sign reads, “I am a Muslim. I come to share your grief” at the services for slain Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Bernard “Tignous” Verlhac in Paris. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

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U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius place a wreath at the site of one of the terrorist attacks, a kosher market in Paris. (Rick Wilking / Associated Press)

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People continue to visit Paris’ Place de la Republique to leave tributes to victims of the terrorist attacks. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

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A cameraman shoots the front of Montreuil City Hall, which displays images of those killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack, on Jan. 15. The funeral of cartoonist Bernard Verlhac is to take place in the community outside of Paris. (Bertrand Guay / AFP/Getty Images)

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From left, the new editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, Gerard Biard; caricaturist Luz; journalist Patrick Pelloux; and editor-in-chief of the French newspaper Liberation, Laurent Joffrin, at a news conference about the next Charlie Hebdo edition, at Liberation’s headquarters, in Paris. (Yoan Valat / EPA)

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The new editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, Gerard Biard, left, and journalist Patrick Pelloux, right, comfort caricaturist Luz during a press conference at the Liberation newspaper headquarters in Paris on Jan. 13. (Yoan Valat / EPA)

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People carry the coffin of French police officer Ahmed Merabet during a funeral in Bobigny, near Paris, after he was killed on Jan. 7 by Islamist gunmen during the attack on Charlie Hebdo. (Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP/Getty Images)

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French President Francois Hollande holds a medal in front of the coffin of police officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe during a ceremony on Jan. 13 to pay tribute to the three police officers killed in the attacks in Paris. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

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French police officers carry the coffin of Franck Brinsolaro during a ceremony Jan. 13 for the three police officers killed in the attacks in Paris. (Francois Moril / AFP/Getty Images)

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Family members of police officer Ahmed Merabet hold his cap and his Legion of Honor decoration during his funeral in a Muslim cemetery in Bobigny, France, on Jan. 13. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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The funeral of murdered police officer Ahmed Merabet takes place at a Muslim cemetery in Bobigny, France, on Jan. 13. All three police officers killed in last week’s attacks have been awarded posthumous Legions d’Honneur in recognition of their bravery. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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The body of a victim is carried to be buried at a cemetery in Jerusalem during the funeral Jan. 13 of four Jews killed in an Islamist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris last week. (Menahem Kahana / AFP/Getty Images)

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Mourners react in Jerusalem during the Jan. 13 funeral of four Jews killed in an Islamist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris last week. (Jack Guez / AFP/Getty Images)

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French soldiers secure access to a Jewish school in Paris on Jan. 13. France on Monday ordered 10,000 troops into the streets to protect sensitive sites after three days of bloodshed and terror, amid the hunt for accomplices to the attacks that left 17 people and the three gunmen dead. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press)

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A woman walks past hundreds of flowers near the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris on Jan. 13. (Ian Langsdon / EPA)

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Demonstrators make their way along Boulevard Voltaire in a mass rally on Jan. 11 in Paris in the wake of terrorist assaults in the city. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

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The Place de la Republique in Paris is overflowing with demonstrators on Jan. 11 in a massive rally against terrorism. (Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP/Getty Images)

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Demonstrators make their way along Place de la Republique in Paris on Jan. 11 during a mass rally against terrorism. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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People rally at Los Angeles City Hall on Jan. 11, remembering those killed in the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo and others slain by terrorists (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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During a Jan. 11 vigil at Los Angeles City Hall, people raise signs in tribute to the journalists killed in the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Reina Sarkis, a visitor from Lebanon, wears “Charlie’s Angels” wings while paying respect at a makeshift memorial for this killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack, part of a vigil at Los Angeles City Hall on Jan. 11. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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During a Jan. 11 rally at Los Angeles City Hall, Councilman Tom LaBonge, right, leads a crowd in joining hands during a moment of silence for those killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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People raise lighted candles in front of Los Angeles City Hall on Jan. 11, honoring those killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Posters are hung near the Place de la Republique in Paris ahead of a mass unity rally against last week’s terrorist attacks. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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People in a cafe watch on TV as police mobilize to deal with a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes, France, on Jan. 9. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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A body is wheeled away from a kosher grocery store which was the scene of a hostage taking in Paris. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

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An image taken from AFP TV video shows members of the French police special forces launching an assault on the scene of a hostage-taking drama at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes on Jan. 9. (Gabrielle Chatelain / AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the French police special forces evacuate people after launching an assault on the scene of a hostage-taking drama at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes on Jan 9. (Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images)

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A security officer directs released hostages after authorities stormed a kosher market to end a standoff in Paris on Jan 9. (Michel Euler / Associated Press)

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Police mobilize to deal with a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes, France, on Jan. 9. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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Members of the French special police forces launch the assault at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes, where at least two people were shot during a hostage-taking drama at a Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris. (THOMAS SAMSON / AFP/Getty Images)

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French police special forces evacuate people after launching an assault on the scene of a hostage drama at a kosher grocery store in Porte de Vincennes, France, on Jan. 9. (Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Snipers stand on the top of an opposite building to the CTD printing building in an industrial area where the suspects in the shooting attack at the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo headquarters are reportedly holding a hostage, in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris. (Yoan Valat / EPA)

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Hooded police officers walk on the closed ring road that circles Paris near a hostage-taking situation at a kosher market in Paris. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

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Police are mobilized with reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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People are led away from a scene as police mobilize amid reports of a hostage situation at Port de Vincennes in Paris. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

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French police officers arrive to take up positions near Porte de Vincennes in Paris, after at least one person was injured when a gunman opened fire at a kosher grocery store and took at least five people hostage. (Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images)

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People pay their respects at the entrance of French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s editorial office as a tribute to the 12 people killed by two gunmen. (Jacques Demarthon / AFP/Getty Images)

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Ambulances arrive in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast Paris, as part of an operation to seize the two heavily armed suspects. (Michel Spingler / Associated Press)

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Armed security forces fly over Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, as part of the operation to capture the Charlie Hebdo suspects. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press)

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Police officers control the access to Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, where security forces were closing in on the Charlie Hebdo suspects. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press)

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Police officers patrol in the village of Fleury, northeast of Paris, hunting down the two heavily armed brothers suspected in Wednesday’s massacre at Charlie Hebdo. (Michel Spingler / AP Photo)

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A frame grab taken from footage made available by a local resident shows hooded gunmen aiming Kalashnikov rifles at a police officer before shooting him dead outside the Charlie Hebdo offices. (Jordi Mir / AFP/Getty Images)

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The Eiffel Tower lights were switched off for six minutes as a tribute to the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. (Jose Rodriguez / EPA)

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Members of French police special forces search in Corcy, northern France, for the gunmen who attacked the Paris offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. (Francois Lo Presti / AFP/Getty Images)

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French police officers stand at a check point in Longpont, near Villers Cotterets, north-east of Paris, during the manhunt for the suspects in the shooting attack at the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo headquarters. (Yoan Valat / EPA)

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Thousands gather during a candle light vigil at the Place de la Republique in Paris to pay tribute to the victims of the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. (Ian Langsdon / EPA)

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A man holds his mobile phone with the digital display ‘Je suis Charlie’ (I am Charlie), in tribute to the victims of Paris ‘Charlie Hebdo’ attack, during a rally in front of St. Catherine’s Church on the main station in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Christoph Schmidt / EPA)

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A man holds up a giant pencil during a gathering in Tarbes, southern France, in tribute to the 12 people killed by two gunmen at the office of French weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. (Laurent Dard / AFP/Getty Images)

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From Berlin to Bangkok, tens of thousands took a stand against living in fear, as rallies defended the freedom of expression and honored the victims of a Paris newspaper attack. (Francisco Seco / AP)

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A member of the French police intervention force during searches in Fleury, France. (Joel Sagat / AFP/Getty Images)

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SWAT police officers patrol in the village of Longpont. (Michel Spingler / Associated Press)

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French police officers patrol in Longpont, north of Paris on Thursday. (Thibault Camus / AP)

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Police officers patrol northeast of Paris during the manhunt for the gunmen in the shooting at the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo headquarters. (Yoan Valat / EPA)

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French soldiers patrol in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris as the capital was placed under the highest alert status a day after gunmen stormed French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people. (Bertrand Guay / AFP/Getty Images)

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Floral tributes are laid on the ground during a minute of silence in Paris on Jan. 8, a day after two gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people. (Martin Bureau / AFP/Getty Images)

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Journalists hold up their press cards during a minute of silence outside the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris on Jan. 8, a day after masked gunmen stormed the offices and killed 12 people. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

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Mourners gather at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to observe a minute of silence for victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack. (Matthieu Alexandre / AFP/Getty Images)

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Signs reading “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) and “Freedom is great!” on the monument at the center of the Place de la Republique in Paris. (Martin Bureau / AFP/Getty Images)

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A man reflects at a memorial near the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo the day after the deadly attack. (Martin Bureau / AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the French-American community of Los Angeles gather in solidarity with victims of the Paris attack. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

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Mourners in New York City hold signs depicting victims’ eyes during a rally in support of Charlie Hebdo. (John Minchillo / Associated Press)

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Cherif Kouachi, left, and his brother Said Kouachi are seen in photos released by the French police. (French Police / AFP/Getty Images)

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People gather at a rally at the Place de la Republique in Paris. (Thierry Chesnot / Getty Images)

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People gather at the Place Royale in Nantes, France, on Jan. 7 to show solidarity with the victims of the attack on the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. (Georges Gobet / AFP/Getty Images)

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A man holds up a copy of the magazine Charlie Hebdo during a Jan. 7 rally on the Place Royale in Nantes, France, for victims of the attack on the publication’s offices in Paris. (Georges Gobet / AFP/Getty Images)

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A French police officer takes photos outside the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdos in Paris on Jan. 7. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

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A bullet hole is seen in a window of a building next to the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Jan. 7. (Thibault Camus / Associated Press)

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French police and forensic experts examine the car used by armed gunmen who stormed the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people in Paris. (DOMINIQUE FAGET / AFP/Getty Images)

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Police officers and rescue workers gather at the offices of Charlie Hebdo after gunmen attacked the staff of the French satirical magazine in Paris on Jan. 7. (Remy De La Mauviniere / Associated Press)

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A policeman stands at a blocked road next to the Charlie Hebdo headquarters where a shootout occurred in Paris. (LISA KREUZMANN / EPA)

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French President Francois Hollande, center, flanked with security forces arrives outside the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s office, in Paris/ (Remy De La Mauviniere / Associated Press)

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A general view shows firefighters, police officers and other investigators gathered in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris after armed gunmen stormed the offices, leaving 12 people dead. (MARTIN BUREAU / AFP/Getty Images)

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A victim is evacuated on a stretcher on Jan. 7, 2015, after armed gunmen stormed the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, leaving at least 12 people dead. (MARTIN BUREAU / AFP/Getty Images)

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An injured person is evacuated outside the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s office, in Paris on Jan. 7, 2015. (Thibault Camus / AP)

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Emergency workers wheel an injured man on a stretcher after the attack on the Paris offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7. (Philippe Dupeyrat / AFP/Getty Images)

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In this image made from amateur video recorded on Jan. 7 by Jordi Mir, a masked gunman, bottom right, is seen moments after shooting a police officer outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. (Jordi Mir / Associated Press)

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In this image made from amateur video on Jan. 7 by Jordi Mir, masked gunman get into a car moments after shooting a police officer outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. (Jordi Mir / Associated Press)

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Armed gunmen face police officers during an attack on the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7, 2015, in Paris. (Anne Gelbard / AFP/Getty Images)

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A special edition of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo sits among other publications at a Paris newsstand on Jan. 2, 2013. (Yoan Valat / EPA)

By The Times Editorial Board

Jan. 7, 2015 5:04 PM PT

The primary victims of the terrorist outrage in Paris on Wednesday are the 12 people who were shot dead and several others who were wounded. This would be an unspeakable atrocity regardless of the motives that drove masked gunmen to attack the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

But the terrorists, who reportedly said they were avenging the prophet Muhammad, were aiming not only at individuals but at an idea: that freedom of expression includes the right to criticize and, yes, ridicule the cherished beliefs of others. Charlie Hebdo certainly had done that in publishing cartoons lampooning Muhammad and mocking Islam.

President Obama alluded to this when he praised France’s commitment to “universal values.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more explicit, describing the carnage as an attack on “freedom of expression — a key component of our free democratic culture.”

It’s tempting to see this tragedy as an example of the failure of some Muslims to adapt to Western notions of robust free speech, and there is some truth in that observation: Scurrilous depictions of Jesus Christ or the pope are far less likely to provoke violence than a violation of the taboo that Muhammad may not be lampooned (or even depicted). It’s also the case that Muslim nations have been in the forefront of the campaign to have the United Nations condemn “defamation of religion.”

Yet the impulse to punish or censor sacrilegious speech isn’t unique to Muslims. In the past, Christians also have used the law to punish irreverence, and blasphemy statutes remain on the books in some U.S. states (though they wouldn’t survive a 1st Amendment challenge). Even many Americans and Europeans who support free speech in general would draw the line at protection for religiously offensive speech, just as many would make an exception for racist speech.

Yet a moment’s reflection should dispel the view that freedom of political speech can be separated from speech about race or religion — subjects that are entwined with politics and government all over the world. In a free society, the answer to offensive speech about any topic is more speech, not legal reprisals and certainly not violence or vengeance.

Freedom of expression isn’t just a peculiarity of European and American culture. It is enshrined in the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” One way to honor the victims of Wednesday’s massacre is to defend that principle, and not just in Western countries.

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