NY Times:
Three men arrested in Denmark on Wednesday on suspicion of planning to attack a newspaper that had published satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad appeared in court on terrorism and weapons charges in Copenhagen on Thursday, and a fourth was set to appear in Sweden.
The three men pleaded not guilty and invoked a legal right to remain silent, Danish security officials said.
One of the men was identified as Munir Awad, a 29-year-old Swede of Lebanese origin. A man by that name had been arrested before on charges related to terrorism. In 2007, a Mr. Awad was detained by American and Kenyan forces as he and his girlfriend, Saifa Benaouda, attempted to leave Somalia. They were taken to Ethiopia, according to her account, where they were interrogated and later released.
The charges included preparing to attack the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which published the cartoons of Muhammad in 2005 to affirm what it called freedom of expression. But the drawings were seen as blasphemous and a deliberate provocation by many Muslims, and prompted rioting in some countries and repeated attempts at violent retribution.
According to the charge sheet, the men were accused of being in possession of a machine pistol, a silencer and a 9 mm pistol, along with ammunition for both.
The suspects acquired the weapons in Sweden, the charge sheet said, “then on December 29, 2010, drove into Denmark from Sweden, where using the weapons, they intended to attack Jyllands-Posten and kill an unknown number of people.” The alleged plot “failed when the accused were arrested” on Wednesday.
The men will be held in custody for four weeks, the first two weeks in solitary confinement, said a spokesman for the Danish PET security police, who spoke in return for anonymity under departmental rules.
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The evidence against them seems strong. It is not clear why the Danes don't just put them on trial and administer justice. Perhaps they will plead insanity, since it is clear the cartoons made them crazy. What kind of sane person wants to murder a cartoonist?
Image via Wikipedia
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