German paper attacked for reprinting cartoons

The Hamburger Morgenpost splashes three Charlie Hebdo cartoons on its front page

BERLIN: A German newspaper in Hamburg that reprinted cartoons from the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo was the target of an arson attack early on Sunday, police said.

“Rocks and then a burning object were thrown through the window,” a police spokesman told AFP. “Two rooms on lower floors were damaged but the fire was put out quickly.”

The regional tabloid daily, the Hamburger Morgenpost, had splashed three Charlie Hebdo cartoons on its front page after the massacre at the Paris publication, running the headline “This much freedom must be possible!”

No one was hurt in the attack, which police said occurred at about 0120 GMT. Two people were detained, while state security has opened an investigation, police said.

Whether there was a connection between the Charlie Hebdo cartoons and the attack was the “key question”, the police spokesman said, adding that it was “too soon” to know for certain.

Police declined to provide further information about the suspects. No one at the Hamburger Morgenpost, known locally as the Mopo, could immediately be reached for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2015.