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Islamist held for stalking Charlie Hebdo chief

Oliver Gee
Oliver Gee - [email protected]
Islamist held for stalking Charlie Hebdo chief
Police have been on high alert since the January attacks in Paris. Photo: AFP

Two men, one with links to Islamic extremism, have been questioned by police after they were reported to have been watching the home of one of the surviving members of Charlie Hebdo staff.

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Laurent "Riss" Sourisseau, the publishing director of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, has been living under police protection ever since the January terror attacks in Paris.
 
He escaped the massacre with a bullet wound to the shoulder, while 12 people around him were shot dead.
 
Earlier this month, witnesses reported seeing a man on a scooter taking pictures of the Frenchman's home, and the next day, another man with another scooter was reportedly seen doing the same. 
 
Police were able to identify both the men and take them in for questioning, reported French newspaper Le Parisien
 
The first man had a lengthy criminal record with more than 20 entries. The other, more worryingly, had links to radical Islamic movements and had already been identified by authorities as a potential danger.
 
Under interrogation by police, both insisted that they just happened to be in the area and hadn't taken any photos, reported Le Parisien. One said he was simply passing the home while the other added that he was heading to a nearby doctor.
 
The men were both allowed to walk free. 
 
Sourisseau has not commented directly on the matter, but spoke more broadly to the Europe 1 channel on Wednesday about life after the January attacks. 
 
"I'm not living my life in fear," he said. "We are not alone, we are supported by millions of people and by the services of the state."
 
Another surviving member of the Charlie Hebdo team, Luz, announced on Monday that he would be leaving the paper in September. 
 
"Each issue is torture because the others are gone. Spending sleepless nights summoning the dead, wondering what Charb, Cabu, Honore, Tignous would have done is exhausting," the cartoonist said.

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