A Danish newspaper published on Wednesday a caricature
depicting Prophet Muhammad which triggered the anger of Muslims all around the
world 2 years ago, when they were first published.
On Tuesday three people were arrested for planning to kill
Kurt Westergaard, 73, the cartoonist working for Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper
that originally published the cartoons in September 2005. At that time three
Danish embassies were attacked and almost 50 people died in riots in Middle
East, Africa and Asia.
According to officials, two Tunisians and a Dane citizen of
Moroccan origin were detained “to prevent a murder linked to terrorism,” BBC
News reports.
The cartoon republished by Jyllands-Posten on Wednesday
depicts Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb on his head like a turban with a lit to
fuse.
According to Reuters, four other Danish newspapers reprinted
the cartoon depicting the prophet. The four newspapers were Politiken,
Berlingske Tidende, BT and Ekstra Bladet.
One editorial in the Politiken called the attack on the
cartoonist “shocking and troubling.”
The editorial said: “Their plans to kill Kurt Westergaard...
are not just an attack on Westergaard but an attack on our democratic culture.
Regardless of whether Jyllands-Posten at the time used freedom of speech unwisely
and with damaging consequences, the paper deserves unconditional solidarity
when it is threatened with terror. That is why Politiken today... prints the
drawing, even though at no time have we sympathized with Jyllands-Posten's provocation."
The newspapers wanted to say that they will not be
frightened by fanatics.
Jakob Sharf, the head of the Danish Security and
Intelligence Service (PET), said that the three suspects were arrested “after
lengthy surveillance.”
The Danish citizen will be released, but investigation will
continue. The Tunisians will be held until they are taken out of the country.
The PET didn’t mention the target of the attack, but he
Jyllands-Posten said it was Westergaard.
According to the newspaper, Westgaard along with his wife,
Gitte, were under police protection for three months.
Westergaard posted a statement on the newspaper site saying:
"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."
“We'd become more or less used to death threats and bomb
threats since the cartoons, but it's the first time that we've heard about actual
murder plans - that's new,” he added.