Seven arrested in threat to kill more cartoonists

[King Tendulkar]

From The Times March 10, 2010 Seven Muslims arrested over 'plot to kill cartoonist'David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent Seven people have been arrested in the Republic of Ireland over a suspected plot to kill a Swedish artist who portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a dog and had a $100,000 (£66,000) al-Qaeda bounty on his head. Anti-terrorist units used information from the CIA, FBI and European intelligence agencies to identify the suspected terrorist cell of three women and four men. They are believed to include Algerian, Libyan, Croatian, US and Palestinian citizens and at least one naturalised Irish citizen. They were arrested in Cork and Waterford after a four-month international investigation. The artist, Lars Vilks, has received death threats this year and was forced to go into hiding after his depictions of the Prophet were printed in a Swedish newspaper in 2007. After the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard was threatened by a Somali axeman in January, Mr Vilks said he had received calls from “a Swedish-speaking Somali†who said: “Now it’s your turn.†Irish police said that three men and two women were arrested in Waterford city and Tramore and a man and a woman in Ballincollig, Cork. They range in age from the mid-20s to late 40s and are understood to include at least one convert to Islam. Senior police officers were eager to stress they do not believe that those arrested are members of the terrorist group and posed no threat to Irish security. At least one of the suspects is a naturalised Irish citizen while a number of others have attempted to claim asylum. Superintendent John Gilligan said the investigation involved security agencies in a number of countries. “It’s an international investigation in the sense that we are operating here in Ireland in relation to conspiracy to murder someone in another jurisdiction and we are operating in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies,†he said. Mobile phones, personal documents, computers and discs were seized in raids on homes during the arrests. Some of those arrested are believed to be converts to Islam. The suspects had been living legally in Ireland for up to ten years. Some arrived as refugees and none is in full-time employment.

[King Tendulkar]

Good on the swedish media in not bowing down to the threats and printing the cartoon. I am sure fans of Hussain will appreciate this move i.e Lurker:giggle:. And am sure Hussain himself will be looking forward to some nude pictures of his prophet anytime soon --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three leading Swedish newspapers and the national broadcaster today carried a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a dog's body after an alleged plot to murder the artist was unveiled in Ireland. The threat to Lars Vilks was a threat against all Swedes, the country's biggest daily, Dagens Nyheter, proclaimed, adding that the New Year axe attack on a Danish cartoonist for drawing the Prophet meant that Scandanavian values of openness were being assaulted. The drawing by Mr Vilks was published in the Stockholm-based Dagens Nyheter and Expressen newspapers and the Malmo daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet in defence of one of the cornerstones of Sweden's constitution. This states that Swedes have the right to freedom of speech and cannot be restrained from the lawful expression of their views. But the newspapers stopped short of running the controversial cartoon on their websites because of their wider accessibility around the world. Islam forbids representations being made of the Prophet. "In September 2007, al Qaida leaders set a price on Swedish artist Lars Vilks’ head," said Dagens Nyheter in an editorial comment. His "alleged crime" was to draw a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad as a "roundabout dog", a type of street installation popular in Sweden where sculptures are often placed in the middle of roundabaouts. It added: "The latest development including the arrests in Ireland stresses the serious situation and the failed axe attack on Danish Mohammad cartoonist Kurt Westergaard further emphasises the weight of the threat. "If anyone views the attacks on Westergaard and Vilks as individual criminal cases it is time for them to think again. The threats are attacks on one of the most fundamental rights – the freedom of speech – and should be viewed as a wider treat against an open and free society. "The al-Qaeda individuals who would like to silence the Scandinavian artists are denying the most basic values which upholds a democracy. A threat against Lars Vilks is a threat against all Swedes." Gunilla Herlitz, the Dagens Nyheter Editor-In-Chief, defended the re-printing of the cartoon as a legitimate part of the story of the day. "I believe that, in this case, the cartoon is a part of the news and therefore we would like to show the readers what this is all about. But the cartoon is published in a context and is not the leading picture on the page. "In order not to increase the risk of separating the cartoon from the context it was not published on the newspaper's website. (To do) That could upset people without a reason. Also, a picture published online would be much more widely disseminated." Thomas Mattson, Editor-In-Chief of Expressen, one of Sweden’s biggest-selling daily tabloids, said: â€It would be unreasonable to inform our readers about the international terror group’s murder plans against artist Lars Vilks without informing our readers about what the controversial cartoon looks like." Daniel Sandström, Editor-In-Chief of Sydsvenskan, South Sweden’s biggest daily broadsheet, said: â€We are running this [cartoon] as background information so the reader can understand why Vilks' picture is controversial. It is a normal journalistic decision. It is not a provocation, just information. "Since the picture has such a natural news value in this context I believe the real questions regarding publication should be directed to the media which chose to not publish."

[Clarke]

Move over G.I. Jane, Jihad Jane is here http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100310/ap_on_re_us/us_american_terror_plot