Europe
Denmark starts cartoon attack trial
Somali man charged with attempted murder says he just wanted 'to scare'
cartoonist who caricatured Prophet Muhammad.
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 14:57 GMT
Westergaard's 2005 caricature of Prophet Mohammed stirred anger in the Muslim
world [EPA]
A Somali man charged with trying to kill a Dane who caricatured Prophet
Mohammad has appeared in court, saying he was only trying to scare the
cartoonist.
The 29-year-old defendant, who axed his way into the home of Kurt Westergaard
on New Years Day last year, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder on the first
day of his trial on Wednesday.
"I was irritated and frustrated by his comments. I wanted to frighten him but
not to kill him," he told a packed court in the central Danish town of Arhus.
The man was also charged with attempted murder for throwing the axe at police
when they confronted him. He could face life in prison if found guilty on all
counts: attempted terrorism, attempted murder, attacking a police officer and
illegal arms possession.
The defendant, who Danish intelligence police say is linked to the Somali
movement al-Shabab, insisted he had "bought the axe to help a friend cut down a
tree."
"But I brought it with me to Arhus because I was very angry with [Westergaard]
and wanted to break down his door to talk with him," he said.
'Very violent'
Westergaard locked himself inside a panic room and was unharmed in the attack.
At the opening of the trial, prosecutor Kristen Dyrman played recordings of
Westergaard's two calls to police during the break-in for the nine jury members.
"He is breaking down the door! It's very violent. You must come immediately,"
the cartoonist screamed, insisting: "You must come now or I won't survive. He
is going to kill me!"
When police arrived, the man came out wielding his axe and a knife. He was shot
twice and placed under arrest.
The Somali has a residence permit in Denmark where he has lived since 1996.
The prosecutor said the Danish intelligence agency started monitoring him by
mid-2009 because of his frequent trips to Somalia where he claimed he was
involved in "humanitarian aid projects."
Westergaard has faced numerous death threats since the publication of his
drawing of the Prophet Mohammad wearing a turban-shaped bomb with a lit fuse.
It appeared in the Jyllands-Posten daily on September 30, 2005 along with 11
other cartoons of the Muslim prophet, and sparked angry and even deadly
protests across the Islamic world in early 2006.
The trial is set to last for nine days and the verdict is expected around the
first week of February.
Source:
Agencies
------------------------------------
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe : [email protected]
Unsubscribe : [email protected]
List owner : [email protected]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
