French court throws out Muslims' suit

A French court today threw out a law suit by five Muslim organisations aimed at blocking a French newspaper from publishing caricatures of the prophet Mohammed that have led to violent protests worldwide.

The court refused to examine the issues in the case and threw out the suit on purely technical grounds.

The court said the public prosecutor’s office, which is always represented in French courts, was not properly notified of the case.

Cases are typically thrown out of court if procedures are not respected, before the issues can be examined.

The satirical weekly Charlie-Hebdo executive editor Philippe Val welcomed the court decision as “good news.”

The paper planned to publish the caricatures that have inflamed the Muslim world tomorrow.

The organisations that brought the suit included the moderate Mosque of Paris and the fundamentalist Union of Islamic Organisations of France, or UOIF.

“One cannot insult a religion whatever it is. To defend the dignity of one’s religion does not mean one is radical,” said UOIF secretary general Fouad Alaoui.

“Criticising religion is legitimate in a state of law and must remain so,” said Charlie-Hebdo chief Philippe Val ahead of the brief court hearing.

Two other French newspapers published some of the Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that were originally published by a Danish newspaper.

With about 5 million Muslims – the most in western Europe – French leaders have pleaded for reason to prevail on all sides, while defending press freedom.