Charlie Hebdo Editor in 2012: `I Prefer to Die Than Live Like a Rat` - VIDEO
And Charbonnier remained defiant in the face of the threats against his publication.
"Our job is not to defend freedom of speech but without it we`re dead. We can`t live in a country without freedom of speech. I prefer to die than to live like a rat," Charbonnier told ABC News.
The attack at the newspaper in Paris killed at least 12 people today -- including Charbonnier.
12 Dead in `Terrorist` Attack on Paris Satirical Magazine
The publication aimed to poke fun at religious, government, popular figures and institutions. It was banned in 1970 after publishing a cartoon lampooning media coverage of deadly fire, according to translated text from Charlie Hebdo`s website.
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