FRENCH COURT ACQUITS CHARLIE HEBDO IN PUBLISHING THE MOHAMMED CARTOONS

Excellent news concerning an important case. CNN has the news on the French weekly's good news (via Hot Air):

A French court on Thursday ruled in favor of a satirical weekly that had printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, rejecting accusations by Islamic groups who said the publication incited hatred against Muslims.

The court said the cartoons published by the weekly Charlie Hebdo were covered by freedom of expression laws and did not constitute an attack on Islam in general but fundamentalists.

I think one of the important factors leading to the aquittal was Nicholas Sarkozy's own aid, which he gave to the paper earlier.

The AFP reports that there was applause at the ruling:

Applause broke out in the courtroom at the announcement of the verdict, which ruled that three cartoons published by the weekly Charlie Hebdo in February 2006 were not insulting to Muslims.

The applause was for a good cause.