Famous satirical magazine of France, Charlie Hebdo has been awarded with a freedom of expression award from PEN American Center. The editors get standing ovation from the visitors. Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman and Roz Chast were present at the award giving ceremony held at the American Museum of Natural History.

Six prominent authors boycotted the event, quoting that it celebrated the magazine’s “cultural intolerance”. The boycott has been criticised by the author Salman Rushdie, a former president of PEN who was in hiding for years over Islamist threats in response to his novel The Satanic Verses.

Islamists stormed the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris in January after the magazine published drawings of the Prophet Muhammad.

Charlie Hebdo’s editor in chief, Gerard Biard and Jean-Baptiste Thoret, a film critic, were at the gala to accept the award.

The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the “major” literary awards in America.

GK Questions

• After the attacks by Islamic Terrorists on Charlie Hebdo, what was the phrase adopted by supporters of free speech and freedom of expression? Je Suis Charlie
• The Headquarters of Charlie Hebdo is ______? Paris, France. 
• The largest selling English news magazine in India is ______? The Week  published by The Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd