June 4, 2012
A Danish court on Monday found four men guilty of “terrorism” over a plot to kill the staff of a newspaper that first published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005.
The three Swedish nationals and one Tunisian living in Sweden had pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges, but a district court found all four “guilty of terrorism”, chief judge Katrine Eriksen said in the verdict, which was broadcasted live.
The men, who were arrested in a joint Danish-Swedish police operation at the end of 2010, were found guilty on the main charge of terrorism but were acquitted on two charges of weapons possession for technical reasons, court officials said.
Judge Katrine Eriksen told the court that the target of the planned attack was the offices of the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which first published the dozen cartoons seven years ago and that the goal was to kill as many people as possible there.
“The accused…are guilty of terrorism, Eriksen said. “(They) agreed and prepared acts to kill people.”
Convicted were Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, a Tunisian citizen, Munir Awad a Swedish citizen born in Lebanon, Omar Abdalla Aboelazm, a Swedish citizen born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Egyptian father, and Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, a Swedish citizen of Tunisian origin.
Source: Alarabiya with agencies
