The editor of Charlie Hebdo, Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier, who was killed by terrorists at his Paris office, was so strong in his stand for the freedom of the press that he once remarked he’d rather die than cave to his critics.
“I am not afraid of retaliation,” he told reporters in France in 2012, the New York Post reported. “I have no kids, no wife, no car, no credit. It perhaps sounds a bit pompous, but I prefer to die standing than living on my knees.”
Charbonnier, 47, was one of the eight Charlie Hebdo staffers shot and killed by terrorists on Wednesday. He was also at the newspaper when it was firebombed in 2011 after publishing a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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