13 February 2008
One of Denmark's biggest newspapers has republished a controversial cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed following a foiled plot by Islamists to kill the cartoonist. The drawing, depicting the prophet with a bomb under his turban, has appeared on the website of the 'Jyllands-Posten' newspaper as well as being printed three times on a page featuring the story of the plot to kill Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist. Danish authorities said two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin had been arrested in the city of Aarhus "to prevent a murder linked to terrorism".
Westergaard had produced a series of drawings of Mohammed published by the newspaper in 2005, sparking outrage around the world and forcing the publication's management to implement security precautions for its staff.
The editor in chief of Jyllands-Posten, Carsten Juste, said the publication of the cartoon was not in breach of any laws and Westergaard and his wife should not have been the target of any threats of violence. "It is appalling that a man who to the best of his ability goes about his work and carries it out in accordance with Danish law, the Danish media ethics code and Danish media traditions was demonized and had his life threatened," Juste said on the newspaper's website, adding: "We are grateful to the Danish authorities for protecting our colleague competently and professionally."
In a statement on the same website, Westergaard said: "Of course I fear for my life when the police intelligence service say that some people have concrete plans to kill me. But I have turned fear into anger and resentment."
