Media accused of endangering lives of six people who hid in cold room by broadcasting their location live during siege

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Six people who hid in a supermarket refrigerator during an Islamist attack in Paris in January have sued French media for broadcasting their location live during the siege.



Gunman Amedy Coulibaly stormed the Hyper Casher Jewish supermarket on 9 January, killing four people and taking others hostage.

Patrick Klugman, a lawyer representing the group of six, said broadcasts from the scene during the siege “lacked the most basic precautions” and endangered those still alive inside.

Klugman singled out the 24-hour news channel BFMTV, which revealed live on air that the six – including a three-year-old child and a one-month-old baby – were hiding from Coulibaly in the cold room.

The lives of those hiding “could have been at risk if Coulibaly had been aware in real time what BFMTV was broadcasting,” Klugman said, adding that the gunman followed the coverage of his raid on different channels and had been in contact with BFMTV journalists.

Klugman also criticised coverage by other outlets of security forces’ movements during the standoff. “The working methods of media in real time in this type of situation were tantamount to goading someone to commit a crime,” he said.

The lawsuit charges media outlets with endangering the lives of others by deliberately ignoring security protocols, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a €15,000 (£11,000) fine.

The supermarket siege took place two days after Cherif and Said Kouachi shot 12 people at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. All three gunmen were killed after three days of attacks left 17 people dead.

