SURVIVORS OF JIHADIST ATTACK ON KOSHER FRENCH SUPERMARKET SUE MEDIA OUTLETS

Some survivors of the jihadist assault on Hyper Cacher have filed a lawsuit against the media sources covering the incident, since it appears the press representatives violated special laws:

According to attorney Patrick Klugman, who is representing the six plaintiffs, the reports on January 9 from the scene of the hostage crisis and shooting "lacked the most basic cautions," thus endangering the hostages being held inside the supermarket.

Klugman was referring mainly to the coverage by the BFMTV news channel, which revealed on a live broadcast that a group of customers, including a 3-year-old boy and a month-old infant, were hiding in the market's walk-in refrigerator. The group had been led to and hidden in the fridge by Lassana Bathily, a Muslim store employee.

The lawsuit accuses the broadcasters of putting the hostages' lives in danger by intentionally ignoring safety protocols. French law stipulates that anyone convicted of this type of legal contravention be given the maximum sentence of a year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros ($16,000).

"The working methods of media in real time in this type of situation were tantamount to goading someone to commit a crime," Klugman said on Thursday, adding that other media outlets had also behaved irresponsibly. According to the lawyer, if shooter Amedy Coulibaly had learned what the channel was reporting, the hostages' lives could have been in danger.

While the station named in the suit may have apologized, a verbal apology alone cannot be accepted. They have to take more official responsibility by resigning and appointing people who can show the guts not to take irresponsible steps, and to be more honest in their coverage of Israel too. I hope some of the reps named in the suit get jail time, because they deserve it.