Italians will sue Charlie Hebdo for earthquake coverage

LONDON -Survivors of last month’s devastating Italian earthquake are planning legal action against the controversial French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over its coverage of the tragedy. The magazine, known for its graphic cartoons and provocative tone, drew comparisons to Italian cuisine in its depiction of survivors. 

One cartoon called, “Earthquake Italian Style”, compared a bloodied male victim to “penne in a tomato sauce” and a woman to a form of macaroni and cheese. A collapsed building, complete with blood and feet coming out of its flattened floors, is described as “lasagna”. 

“It amounts to a macabre, tactless and inconceivable insult to the victims of a natural catastrophe,” said Mario Cicchetti, a town council lawyer in Amatrice, which was struck by the Aug. 24 earthquake, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday. 

Nearly 300 people died in the tremor in the mountains of central Italy, with 230 bodies recovered from Amatrice alone. Poor construction techniques were blamed for the destruction and loss of life. 

After Italians reacted angrily to the coverage, Charlie Hebdo last week published a second round of cartoons depicting the Italian earthquake under the headline “Italians ... it's not Charlie Hebdo who built your homes, it's the mafia”.