Charlie Hebdo, the satirical French weekly that was the target of a deadly attack last week, will publish more images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad in its next issue, due out Wednesday , its lawyer told French media.
"We will not give in," Richard Malka, the lawyer, told France Info radio. "The spirit of 'I am Charlie' means the right to blaspheme."
A translation of his remarks was provided by Reuters.
As we have reported, Charlie Hebdo's next edition will have a print run of 1 million copies, thanks largely to monetary and other donations from Google and French media groups. The magazine typically has a print run of 60,000 copies and a circulation of about 30,000.
The left-wing magazine has a history of provocation. Its frequent targets have included religion – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – politicians and capitalism. But its cartoons have also been labeled racist, homophobic and misogynistic.
But it is Charlie Hebdo's decision to reprint cartoons of Prophet Muhammad that were first published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 that brought it attention – some of it unwelcome. It became the target of threats and an attack.
Some Muslims regard any depiction of their prophet as blasphemous.
The two gunmen who killed 12 people at the magazine's offices, including some of its top cartoonists, last Wednesday claimed that they had "avenged the Prophet Mohammed" as they left the scene.
Charlie Pelloux, one of the magazine's columnists, said that this week's issue will be available in 16 languages, according to Agence France-Presse.
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