MONTREAL, Jan 15 — A caricature in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo of Aylan Kurdi, the little Syrian boy whose drowned body washed up in September on a Turkish beach, has been decried by his aunt.

In the latest issue of the weekly, cartoonist and head of the magazine, Riss, sketched a pervert in pursuit of a woman under a banner that reads, “What would have become of small Aylan if he grew up?”

“Someone who gropes asses in Germany,” Riss added, alluding to a rash of crime targeting women at New Year’s festivities in Cologne that has been blamed on migrants.

“It’s disgusting,” Tima Kurdi, Aylan’s aunt wrote in a Twitter message about the cartoon.

Tima Kurdi, who recently helped her brother and his family to resettle in Canada, also told public broadcaster CBC: “I hope people respect our family’s pain.” 

She explained that Aylan Kurdi’s death “was a big loss to us. We’re not the same anymore after this tragedy.

“We’re trying to forget a little bit and move on with our life,” she said, but the Charlie Hebdo cartoon brought it all back into focus.

The drawing has triggered sharp criticism on social networks. 

In Paris, contacted yesterday by AFP about the controversy surrounding its cartoon, the newspaper did not wish to comment. — AFP