Jeannette Bougrab, the girlfriend of Charlie Hebdo editor Stéphane Charbonnier who was murdered at the office of the magazine when the Kouachi brothers attacked with guns, has said that she will skip the funeral for the editor at the request of his family. Bougrab told reporters that “I do not have the strength to fight for that. I am bruised and defeated.” Right after the terrorist attack Jeannette could be seen outside the office of Charlie Hebdo and she was visibly distraught after finding out that Charbonnier was killed. After the attack Bougrab told the media hat she had been living with Charbonnier for the last 3 years together with her 3 year old daughter. There are photographs online that show the couple together, and Bougrab’s daughter is also visible in the picture.
After being asked to forego the funeral by Stéphane Charbonnier’s family Jeannette Bougrab responded by saying “The family [has] deprived me of a last reunion with my love. By doing that, they’ve killed him a second time I want to die, and it’s very difficult for me to explain this. I prefer to die and let Charb [be] alive.” Jeannette also told reporters “He never had children, because he knew he was going to die. He lived without fear, but he knew he would die.” Bougrab expressed confusion on why the Charlie Hebdo editor was targeted by terrorists but she was not, and in the past she traveled to Yemen and Pakistan in order to interview senior members of the Taliban and refused to wear a veil while doing so.